


As the two twines around one another, the both of us will perish.

by DualityXS



Series: Two Twines [2]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul, tokyo ghoul :re
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Angst, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Blood and Torture, Burning, Crying, Depression, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Dreams, Eating Disorders, Fighting, Fights, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hair Pulling, Hallucinations, Headaches, Hearing Voices, Heavy Angst, Hospitalization, Implied Sexual Content, Insanity, Kidnapping, Language of Flowers, Licking, M/M, Memories, Minor Character Death, Nostalgia, Officework, Psychological Torture, Reunions, Romance, Sasaki Haise Is Kaneki Ken, Schizophrenia, Self-Discovery, Separation Anxiety, Shironeki | White-haired Kaneki, Singing, Torture, Training, battles, breakdown - Freeform, fun fun fun, ghoul!Hide, hidekane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-03 22:29:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 35,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4117128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DualityXS/pseuds/DualityXS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the Auction Raid.<br/>Haise Sasaki is dealing with these visions of his past self, Kaneki Ken. This story shows the struggles he has and how his Quinx Squad and the CCG deals with it. However, Anteiku and Aogiri have something planned and a few certain people will make an appearance in Haise's life that will cause him begin remembering more of his past and lastly, what it means to be Sasaki Haise.</p><p>PREQUEL - http://archiveofourown.org/works/4467944</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Overflowing Flowers

His room was darkened, a blind at his window only let in a slither of light. He lay on his unmade bed, half wrapped in the duvet. It faintly smelt like coffee and mint shampoo, but the waft of something horrendous seeped under the door. He felt is stomach twist and his nose twitch at the smell – rotting meat, bleach, urine… It shouldn’t really bother him seeing as he had chosen to be the chef of this household. And with that responsibility he learnt how to not smell the human food as he cooked it and relied on Mutsuki or Shirazu for taste. Saiko always loved his food, but was constantly making her own. He concluded the sickening smell wafting from the kitchen was Saiko’s cooking.

His thoughts fluttered to the void that was once his memories, he knew he was a human once, but he can’t remember the taste of human food. Something sprung to mind however, beef patties, and that was all as it was faded into the cosmic abyss once again. Although he can’t remember the taste of beef, he knew what it looked like and when he saw one that saiko was frying up one day he felt a surge of warmth inside him. Maybe it was linked to his past. Beef patties. Of all things.

He laughed at his thoughts, sitting up in bed, not really wanting to do much but laze around and forget what happened at the Auction raid. His thoughts told him otherwise. His mind kept racing over the name Kaneki Ken. He still didn’t know much about this person, but he knew it was him from the past.

 _“How are you feeling?”_ A quiet voice whispered from across the room. Haise knew he was alone but still he heard the voice and his grey, half lidded eyes flickered over to the lone figure sat at the end of his bed. It was Kaneki. He could see him. But it might just be his hallucinations again – something that was common to Haise.

“I’m fine” Haise told the man. Kaneki looked younger but it was still Haise. It was like a photograph, trapped in time. Kaneki shifted and a smile pricked the lips of his solemn face. He always looked so sad.

 _“That’s good to hear”_ Kaneki was glad Haise wasn’t scared of him. It warmed his heart as he caught Haise’s soft eyes looking through the musty darkness. Kaneki got up and padded over to the Haise’s bookcase. He ran his finger across the spines, his black fingernail catching a glint of light. Haise lifted his hands and looked at his fingernails. Normal, albeit with a slight grey tinge to them. Kaneki pulled a book out, a crime, horror drama that Haise loved and had read countless times.

 _“Looks like a good book”_ Kaneki mused as he scanned the pages.

“I love it” Haise spoke back, shifted out of bed to pad over to where Kaneki was stood.

 _“Tell me about it”_ Kaneki looked up to see Haise, his hair was a mess, bags under his eyes and an overall exhausted persona surrounded him.

“Well it’s about this detective, she’s looking to find a serial killer who keeps killing at random areas. It makes her believe that there are more than one serial killer as each type of death is unique to each other”

“ _I might have to read it sometime_ ” Kaneki chuckled cracking a knuckle.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Haise looked away from Kaneki and towards the door of his bedroom.

“Sassan! You awake? I heard you talking!” The muffled voice of one of the quinx sounded through the door. Haise debated getting up and opening it, he didn’t really want to talk right now. He glanced a Kaneki would had closed the book and was staring, unblinkingly at him.

 _“Are you going to answer that? Haise?”_ Kaneki’s voice was low and dull. Haise gave in and wandered over to the oak door to open it. He was met with Mutsuki and tried his best to place a large comforting smile onto his face. It was obvious that Mutsuki could see through the mask. Mutsuki sighed and itched where his eyepatch string rubbed against his skin.

“You should get out more Sassan… you haven’t really left your room since the raid. We are worried.” He gestured towards the balcony where Haise could see Shirazu looking up at them, he waved with a smile and Haise waved back. Maybe he should go and see his squad, maybe play a board game or do some fighting.

“S…Sorry I was just talking to… him” Haise muttered, looking away from Mutuki’s face and to the floor. Mutsuki had a wash of confusion over his features. He was deeply concerned about Haise, ever since his screams of agony echoed throughout the auction building. And from what Saiko said when she overhead something about this Kaneki Ken.

The quinx only knew so much. They knew their mentor was a ghoul, or a half ghoul who was once human. They knew he had been experimented on when he was younger and that’s how the CCG’s plan to create their own artificial ghouls came from. They knew he had issues with certain triggers that made some of his memories flood back into his fragile mind. They knew he was strong, and sensitive and sometimes unstable. This is what worried Mutsuki more, they only knew brief information about the ghoul known as Eyepatch, and he had inferred that it was once Sasaki Haise, who went by the name Kaneki Ken and he was so scared he might lose is mentor.

“Sassan?” Mustuki said, his face showing worry and also confusion. Haise had been talking about this other person a lot recently. Haise didn’t seem to notice he would do it most of the time.

“We were talking about my favourite book” Haise laughed and Mutsuki looked worried.

“Are you okay Sassan?” He asked, watching his mentor’s features. Haise felt realisation hit him. They don’t know about Kaneki... or at least he thought that.

“Oh uh, I’m tired..” He confessed, touching his chin with his hand, it was true, he was tired but he also used it as a cover up. He retreated back into his room to see where Kaneki was and the boy was clutching the book, still watching Haise.

 _“They will find out if you keep doing this Haise”_ He whispered. Haise angled his head to look back at Mutsuki.

“What are you looking?” The small boy asked. Beginning to step into his room to take a look at what had taken Haise’s attention. Haise tried to protest and stop him but Mutsuki was already looking directly at Kaneki. Kaneki only glanced at Mutsuki and began to chuckle.

 _“He can’t see me Haise”_ Kaneki laughed.

“There’s nothing here” Mutsuki mused. “You really are out of it...”

“Yeah… like I said, I’m tired” Haise muttered, his hand finding his chin again.

“I think you are. More so to the point that you don’t make sense!” Mutsuki laughed and waved it off, leaving the bedroom. He muttered something about watching a TV program with Shirazu and Urie and wandered off back downstairs. Haise disappeared into his room and looked back to where Kaneki was stood, or where he once stood. The white haired male was no longer in sight, the book was placed back on the shelf as if it had never been touched. Haise felt a wave of nausea hit him and slowly he crawled back into bed, letting his tiredness lull him into a gentle sleep.

 _“I’m here Sasaki”_ A voice echoed deep in his ear canals and he felt a warm prescence around him. Haise felt protected and safe.

“Thank you Kaneki” Haise muttered as he drifted off.

\----

“Sassan doesn’t look to good…” Mutsuki said to Shirazu. The taller boy was sprawled out over the sofa and Urie only occupied the end, to which he looked like he was repelled by Shirazu’s presence. Shirazu shrugged and looked at Mutsuki who looked extremely worried.

“He’s been talking about that other person again hasn’t he?” Shirazu murmured and Mutsuki nodded. Urie scoffed and shifted in his seat. “Well our mentors screwed up, what else could go wrong?” He looked angry. _(I could do a better job than that piece of trash)._

“Urie!” Mutsuki and Shirazu yelled at the same time. “There is something wrong with him! We need to get him some help… maybe Arima? Maybe Akira?” Mutsuki looked from Urie to Shirazu.

“Yeah, Akira would be good, Arima is usually unavailable” He pondered, rubbing Mutsuki’s back for reassurance. Urie sighed a deep sigh and got up to leave.

“I don’t care” He muttered _(Pathetic)._


	2. Sasaki Haise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any terrible spellings. I wrote this quickly.

Akira’s office was pristine. Everything from a sharpener positioned on her desk to the colours of her curtains were perfectly coordinated. She liked perfection and cleanliness. It helped to clear her mind. She had a purple theme to her office and it helped with the overall comfortable atmosphere. At least that’s what she was trying to achieve with her office, even when Shirazu was sat awkward opposite her desk. He crossed his hands in his lap, looking around the room. Mutsuki had been told to wait outside which was unfortunate for Shirazu and his nervousness around a higher up.

Akira settled down in her office chair, correcting some paperwork and tidying the desk of any pencils and pens. She sighed, glad she had finished the last of the paperwork considering the Auction Raid. She looked to Shirazu who she had told to wait until she had finished that last pieces of information.

“So Shirazu, what brings you here?” She asked, her voice was strong but she gave a motherly smile that made Shirazu feel more comfortable with.

“It’s about Sassan…” He spoke “I mean Sasaki” He corrected, sitting up straighter in his large padded chair. Akira glanced away, a wave of dread washed her face but it was gone as soon as it arrived.

“What’s up with him?” She questioned, pulling out a small notepad and pen.

“Well, err.. He keeps talking to himself. I mean, more than usual because I know he has always talked to himself” Shirazu stumbled over his words “I mean he keeps talking about this other person and he looks so drained of life” The scratching of Akira’s pen was heard as she scribbled down notes.

“I went into his room and he was trying to figure out how to write this name”

“What name was that?” Akira pushed. She was worried for Haise. She knew he was still unstable after all these years with the CCG, especially after the time Arima fought with who he once was.

“Kaneki Ken” Shirazu said. “He keeps spelling it differently, it’s like he’s trying to find the correct spelling?”

Akira nodded and carried on writing down important notes. She knew this was bad, she knew Haise mustn’t find out about who he once was.

“Has he mentioned anything about hearing voices or seeing things?” She asked, looking Shirazu in the eye. “Or has his behaviour changed dramatically, is it like he is distancing himself from reality or does he not make much sense when he is being social?”

“Uhm” Shirazu had to think, Mutsuki was the one who knew more. “You may have to ask Mutsuki, Ive only picked up on it recently..” He looked to his crossed hands.

“Okay, I’ll get Mutsuki in, you are free to go.” She spoke, setting down her notepad and getting up out of her chair. She walked to the door, gesturing Shirazu to follow to lead him out. Mutsuki was stood outside, texting on his phone.

“Mutsuki Tooru” She said and his head snapped up “Come in” She smiled.

\--

Haise found he would fall in and out of sleep like a boat being caressed by waves. His mind felt like a fire was raging, bordering on a migraine. He would get snippets of memories come back every now and again. His most recent one was about a man named Yoshimura and a café with delicious coffee. He tried to remember more but each time he blacked out and fell back into the crashing waves of sleep.

 _“I know it’s hard”_ Kaneki spoke softly and Haise felt a hand caressing his hair. _“It will be okay soon Haise.”_

“Who is he?” Haise asked into the darkness of his room.

 _“The manager? Yoshimura?”_ Kaneki whispered.

“Yes, who is he? Why is he in my memories?” Haise felt tears around his eyes and cheeks, he sniffed, burying his head into his pillow. “I can’t.. I don’t know why… it’s so hard to make sense of what is happening” He muffled into the pillow with a small sob.

 _“Shush, it’s okay Haise”_ He felt the caress begin again _“He was a lovely man, he taught me how to make good coffee”_ Kaneki mused, he was remembering his time at Anteiku. _“He helped me deal with becoming a Ghoul. You should know you used to be human once, yeah? Well I felt so terrible, it was so wrong to eat human flesh, it was who I was! But a ghoul has to survive… and I had to be there for my loved ones”_

Haise sniffled into the pillow and he felt a weight pushing the mattress down beside him. Kaneki had led down, he wrapped his arms around the investigators body in a tight, warm embrace. Haise began to fall back into the limbo between sleep and awake, where he felt most safe yet scared at the same time.

\--

“Thank you Mutsuki, this will help me so much, tell Shirazu thank you as well” Akira spoke and Mutsuki gripped his shirt tight.

“Is Sassan going to be okay?” He asked, fear wavering his voice. Akira smiled softly, it was warm and kind.

“We are going to try our best Mutsuki. From now on try and get him out of his bedroom, try to keep him in in earshot and in sight.” Akira reassured the smaller Quinx. “He may be a danger to himself...” Akira murmured, too quiet for Mutsuki to hear as she waved him off.

Akira reread her notes, Haise was showing signs of Schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder. She sighed and rubbed her eyes before trudging out the office to the higher ups for any information on how to go about this issue and with Haise’s past coming into the picture, who knows what the CCG may do to him.

\--

Mutsuki arrived home to find Shirazu already lying on the couch. Urie was in the kitchen making some weird smoothie and Saiko’s music could be heard from her bedroom upstairs. Shirazu waved at Mutsuki and patted the sofa for him to join.

“Hey” Shirazu whispered.

“Hey” Mutsuki responded.

“So what’s going to happen?”

“We need to keep an eye on Sassan and Akira will be over soon to brief us on what this Issue may be..”

Shirazu nodded, pulling Mutsuki into a hug only to hear a disgusted sound echo from the kitchen where Urie stood watching. Shirazu let Mutsuki go, blush pinching his cheeks as Urie sighed and wandered off upstairs.

“We need to get him out of his room” Mutsuki spoke, looking up the balcony where Sasaki’s door was stationed. “It isn’t healthy if he is constantly cooped up in there…”

Shirazu stood with Mutsuki in tow and they both bounded up the stairs to Haise’s room. They knocked on the door and were met with no response so they opened it a crack to see if he was still there. And he was, albeit tangled up in a mass of blankets and pillows. He was still wearing his work uniform as well.

“Sassan?” Mutsuki whispered, stepping quietly into his room. The man murmured and rolled to the side.

“What was that?” Mutsuki whispered in response to his muffled noise.

“I said I want to be alone” Haise lifted his head from his pillow, his voice was wavering as if on the verge of tears.

“How about we go for a walk? Hmm?” Mutsuki bribed as he glanced back to Shirazu who shrugged.

“I don’t feel safe out there” Haise whispered. “I’m safe here with him”

Mutsuki sighed and walked closer “Come on, we need to get you cleaned up” He pulled the cover away from Haise and he grunted in disapproval.

“Shirazu go and run a bath” Mutsuki ordered and Shirazu gave a grunt and began to start a bath for Haise. Haise rolled over, his normal eye was reddened from crying but his Kakugan was activated and the sight put Mutsuki on nerves.

“Uhm… Sass-“

“I know, I can’t deactivate it…” He said beginning to sit up. A hand was brought up to cover the black eye. The sound of running water echoed though the bedroom door.

“Nor can I” Mutsuki giggled as he pulled his eyepatch down to show his grey kakugan. Haise cracked a smile at Mutsuki’s humour.

“How about you just have a bath? You haven’t had one in a while Sassan” Mutsuki offered, he smiled at the drained man. He gave in with a huff and stood up, swaying lightly on his feet he began to walk to the bathroom. Mutsuki followed suit and helped to prepare the bath.

“So how are you feeling? Akira said she’s going to pop by later” Shirazu said as the 2 boys entered the bathroom. Haise glanced at Shirazu who was staring directly at his kakugan.

“Uhm..”

“He can’t control it” Musuki whispered.

“I’m okay, just really, really, really tired…” Haise sighed.

“You still got to cook us dinner” Shirazu chirped up. “Your cooking is the best!”

Haise remembered all the times he cooked for his squad. All the intricate dishes that took 4 hours to prepare and all the microwave meals that they had to quickly put on if they came back from a meeting too late. Even though Haise couldn’t eat it he still enjoyed seeing the looks on his squad’s faces when they were met with a meal. However this time around a bout of nausea hit Haise as if he had just be thrown into a blender. And he promptly threw up, luckily missing everyone and the bath tub, only for it go all over the floor.

“Oh no!” Mutsuki had to catch the weakened Haise and Shirazu looked paralysed from the sight of Haise’s reddened vomit.

“T…That’s not his own blood is it…” He whispered and Mutsuki gave him a look that told him to shut the fuck up. With Haise seated on the toilet seat the two began to clear up the mess, trying to not regurgitate in the process of doing so. Haise was heating up, beads of sweat were wetting his forehead and his lower back gave a painful pinch.

“G…get out. Leave, please go” He mumbled incoherently to the 2 squad members who were still preoccupied with cleaning.

“LEAVE” Haise screamed as he felt the pain in his lower back bubble up into an agonising ache. He felt his kagune begin to pierce the skin and rupture like deadly blooming flowers.

“I don’t know who I am” He whispered, his Kagune thrashing. “I am Haise Sasaki, Rank one investigator”

_“No you aren’t.”_

“YES I AM”

_“No you are Kaneki Ken”_

“Please go away”

“HAHAHAHA, THIS FEELS SO GOOD….. THE…THE PAIN…. HAHHA, it’s SO GOOOOD”

 _“MEAT, I NEE- I NEED….._ food?”

“I am Sasaki Haise, I cook food for my squad”

His fragile body was crouched in the corner of the bathroom, he was rocking back and forth, his kagune thrashing and smashing into things. He broke the mirror, glass shards everywhere. He knocked shampoos and shower gels around, splitting the bottles and letting the liquid seep out.

“I am Sasaki Haise”

He couldn’t think. His mind was a tornado of thoughts. And that’s where he could see him. Kaneki Ken. Standing, surrounded by noise and light. Kaneki Ken.

 _I am…. I am Kan_ \- Sasaki Haise”

He felt a strong pinch enter the back of his neck. A needle with its fluid already injected into his fast blood stream. He turned, arching his neck to see Akira and three other CCG soldiers stood, guns ready to fire, watching him.

“I AM SASAKI HAISE” He screamed with all his might, collapsing onto the tiled floor. The suppressant overcome his senses and he drifted back into the limbo. Kaneki watched from afar and before Haise’s last moments of consciousness, their eyes met. Haise’s hand flung out towards Kaneki.

“There he is…”

Yet there was no one there.


	3. Spider Eyes

The young girl was swaying around a steel pole of the abandoned building. It was a disaster of steel girders and poles. Wires and razor wire twisted in and out of the steel work and a dim light radiated from within the metal mess. The sound of chanting, talking, whispering could be heard by her sensitive ears as she watched the sun prick from behind the other destroyed buildings. It was encased in a soft pink light, bordered by royal blue and grey clouds that caught the light in a reddened hue. She giggled, watching as the birds nesting within the labyrinth of this warzone spook and flee their homes. Flapping frantically they were blackened and silhouetted by the sun, flying to somewhere safe.

“There is no safe haven here” She giggled, swinging dangerously close to the edge of the building. Old CCG response vans littered the area below and a mass of skeletal bodies, wrapped in their CCG uniforms were scattered around. This was where the Anteiku raid had taken place. Where her dear Kaneki Ken had been taken by Arima and the CCG. Oh how she laughed when she found out her beloved had his eyes gouged out and his memories taken from him. Oh how selfish of the CCG to take what was his…

It would be only a matter of time when he finally realises this.

Until he finally realises how much the CCG is just a sick, lying, pathetic organisation.

“Eto” A voice resounded behind her and Eto giggled once more, turning her head to the masked man. He was cloaked from head to toe in burgundy robes lined with black satin. The symbol of Aogiri Tree was stitched onto the back in brilliant gold. The colour that matched his hair.

“Yes, Spider?” She whispered through her bandages. He watched through his mask. It was a mixture of reds and blacks with flecks of gold rimming the edges in feathers. The mouthpiece came down and covered his mouth in a grin of a lion with sharp canine teeth. The centre piece was the millions of little beads of light that centred the forehead, supposedly there to represent spider eyes. However, with one eye hole on the left of his face showed a flaring Kakugan, unlike many others. It wasn’t black and red like the standard Ghoul and it was Grey like a Quinx. The sclera was a dark red colour and the pupil was shining brightly in gold. He was a new breed of ghoul.

“We have had news about Sasaki Haise” He spoke, his voice low with a tinge of worry. “He has been taken into the CCG hospital from a freak breakdown concerning Kaneki Ken”

Eto nodded and lightly walked over to Spider, it was as if her feet never fully touched the ground. She giggled from behind her bandages.

“Time to make out move”

From behind Spider and Eto, Takizawa was waiting, hunched over, watching with large owl-like eyes. He was chewing his fingers again, a habit that formed from his experimentation, much like how Kaneki picked up knuckle cracking from Yamori.

“Does this mean I get to have more brain jam? I’m starving already” He hissed, his Kakugan activating.

\--

“I am Sasaki Haise”

“I am Sasaki Haise, Rank One Investigator”

“I work for the CCG, I am a mentor to the Quinx Squad.

“I am Sasaki Haise”

He found he was staring up at the pale ceiling, a single bright light was shining back on him. He kept repeating words over and over. He had to solidify the fact he was Sasaki Haise, not Kaneki Ken. The weariness of the Suppressant gave him a headache that never seemed to leave. He knew he was in hospital, but he felt like he wasn’t real. He was in a dream. A limbo where Kaneki Ken kept watching him from afar. Sometimes he was wearing a mask, a gross, Frankenstein looking mask with large teeth and huge bolts in the neck. Other times he was reading a book and smiling to himself as he passed a funny line. And lastly, he was covered in this red crust, an eye in the middle seemed too wobbled from side to side as he mumbled incoherently about flesh and his friends.

 _“I’m sorry Haise”_ He whispered. He was sat in the chair beside the hospital bed. A solemn look on his features as he scanned the room, fear in his eyes.

“I forgive you” Haise spoke to him, he knew all Kaneki wanted was to be here in reality, not stuck inside Haise’s mind. The white haired male stood up and went to the window, he looked out over the area. CCG apartment blocks, the CCG main office and the small Quinx Chateaux was swallowed into the concrete jungle.

 _“After all that I have done?”_ Kaneki sighed, slouching and resting his elbows on the window sill. Haise felt his eyelids head and it was as if Kaneki had become like static, glitching in and out of his sight.

“Touka” Haise breathed, seeing a flush of purple hit his vision. The waitress at :RE. She looked so pretty, her face, her eyes, her everything.

 _“What about her?”_ Kaneki asked, moving to sit on the bed next to Haise.

“She was someone from my past wasn’t she…” Haise whispered, fear in his eyes. He was so scared he was going to lose it again. He had already felt a headache beginning its relentless assault on his mind.

 _“She was a close friend”_ Kaneki leaned in, close to Haise ear and spoke as softly as he could. He too could feel every one of Sasaki’s headaches.

“Was she kind to me?” Haise said, biting his lip.

 _“She was, but she was viscous too. She was strong, but also weak at the same time… She helped me with training, I had to become strong.”_ Kaneki lowered his voice even more. _“She loved me…”_

“Did you love her back?” Haise questioned.

_“As a friend yeah… I loved someone else”_

A flash of golden hair flickered into Haise’s sight. He saw bright brown eyes and a laugh that was so genuine it made Haise feel so happy for the brief moment that this memory had come back. But it was gone as soon as he could make sense of the warm, delightful feeling it had given him. Kaneki smiled as he too saw the memory of his loved one.

“Who is he?” Haise sighed in content, still feeling the warmth spread over his body.

 _“He was… a very good friend of mine…. A very good lover too”_ Kaneki sadly whispered.

“What was his name?”

_“Hideyoshi Nagachika”_

\--

Spider sat on the roof of the new Aogiri hideout. It was weird to think that this place was once where his favourite coffee shop had been. Where he spent his time with his best friend. A friend who was long gone. Oh how much he missed those lips.

Spider removed his mask, freeing his skin of the leather. He deactivated his Kagugan and sat watching the sky with large brown eyes. His hair had grown into long dreads and curls and it was toned with a whiteness that his blond could never be succumbed too.

“I’m going to get you Kaneki” He sighed, a smile toying his face as he watched the rest of sunrise clash into its usual day colours of solid yellow and the calm blue of the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spider can you guess who it is? I made it kinda obvious.... you will find out why he is called Spider soon.


	4. Siren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd

As the day grew on Sasaki Haise spent his time lying in bed reading countless books and chatting away to himself, or Kaneki Ken. The person stuck inside his mind. Akira came by to check on the young man but was only greeted by his nose in a book and no response to any of her questions.

Some of the Quinx popped by, Saiko and Mutsuki, wondering how their mentor was doing. He simply smiled and told them he wanted to be alone at moment, waving them off as they both walked out the door with terrible looks of dread on their face. Kaneki spent his time sat by Sasaki, they both read the books together and chatted about random things, like the time Hinami found a bird or the time Hide got wasted at a party and Kaneki had to carry him home. Although Sasaki’s memories were still broken and mismatched, he still managed to understand some of them. Hinami, a very good friend who I was helping to learn how to read. Hide, my best friend ever since I was child and my boyfriend.

It was weird to Sasaki as he would have never thought he had been in a relationship. He had always stuck to himself, never interested in anything apart from friendships. He came to the conclusion one day that he was Asexual and Aromantic. It made him feel a sense of purpose that he had figured out why he wasn’t attracted to anyone. But from what Kaneki told him about all the times he had spent with Hide (And some of the other, you know… Other times) Sasaki was stuck trying to figure it all out again.

Arima popped by finally nearing the evening to let Haise know about the movement of Aogiri. They were apparently coursing through the wards with an unknown destination. Arima had guessed the 1st ward, where Haise currently resided in hospital.

“So what is the plan?” Haise said, sitting up. He glanced over to Kaneki who was glaring at Arima, his Kakugan was flaring and his Kagune was coursing and pulsating around him. Haise gave him a look of comfort.

“its okay” He mouthed to Kaneki but Kaneki refused to let his guard down. Arima wondered what Haise was looking at and he turned in the direction of Kaneki. There was nothing but an empty corner with 3 books scattered and open on different pages. Arima knew about Haise’s issue with visions and hearing voices. He must assume that’s what perked Haise’s attention, luckily he didn’t catch the mouthed words Haise sent to Kaneki.

“Well we are going to need you and the Quinx, but I’m afraid that with you and the state you are in it may be difficult.” Arima spoke and Haise lowered his head.

“I’ll be fine” He whispered and Arima raised an eyebrow.

“Haise, I know you are triggered by certain objects and people. They cause your memories to come back and I can tell it is very painful” Arima started. “I cannot guarantee that you will see something that will trigger these episodes” His voice was soft and his hand found Sasaki’s knee from under the blanket for comfort.

“I will be fine, the moment I start getting a headache or if I see something I will retreat to somewhere safe okay?” Haise tried to reason. He wanted to know more about Aogiri from what Kaneki had been telling him. He wanted to know more about his past.

“Okay, we will see. I may place supervision on you from some Special class investigators. I shall warn you, the moment you go berserk you will be suppressed and sedated and put in a holding cell until we know you are stable.” Arima’s voice was strong and all Haise could do was nod in agreement.

That settled it. Arima left with a small goodbye and headed back to his office to prepare the chosen squads for this mission. Arima knew they were after Haise, but he didn’t want to scare the young man. He was a brilliant asset to the CCG and the last thing he wants if for Haise to run away, be kidnapped, or worse, become Centipede again.

\--

“Y…you ready, Golden Boy” Seidou laughed, gnawing at his knuckles. He watched unblinkingly as Spider walked over to him.

“Of course I am, Weirdo-who-eats-his-own-fingers” He patted the crouching Seidou on the head and Seidou giggled maniacally.

“Remember how we used to work together, in the CCG” Seidou hissed, biting down on his index finger. Spider looked at him through his mask and sighed. He did remember, he joined because he wanted to find Kaneki.

“Yes I do, and look at us now. Ravenous half ghouls working for a terrible organisation” Spider groaned and Seidou crawled up to Spider nuzzling into his leg.

“Why the fuck did they give me responsibility over you..” Spider mumbled, scratching Seidou on the head. Seidou giggled and bit down harder on his finger, drawing blood.

“Because we know each other silly.” He laughed, finally taking the finger off in one large crunch. He chewed it, savouring the taste and then began to suck the bloody stump.

“Eh...” Spider groaned. “There’s the signal lets go” Eto had told them to wait for Tatara to jump across the Library building to the Doctors Surgery in the 1st ward. That was their move, the CCG was in sight and ready for their ambush. They had no idea that Aogiri moved so quick.

Seidou laughed manically “YESS FOOD HERE I COME” as he fled the rooftop with Spider in suit.

\--

_“Haise they are coming”_

“Who?”

_“Aogiri”_

Haise jumped out of his hospital bed and ran out, he ran all the way to the main CCG department and too Arima’s office. He banged on the door hard as the secatary told him to calm down.

“Arima! Arima!” He called through the door. No response. Haise turned to the petite lady, fear on his face.

“Aogiri are here. They are coming!” He yelled, tears at his eyes. She had a look of confusion wash over he face. She knew what the CCG did but she wasn’t ever told about missions. Haise glanced around, looking for an investigator, his eyes met Kaneki’s who was seated on a chair in the waiting room. He had a sad smile on his face as he shook his head slowly, never looking away from Haise.

“Sasaki, calm down” Akira said as she saw the panicking man. She was passing through to drop off some information to Arima when she saw the pale-faced Sasaki Haise.

“Aogiri, they are here they are going to attack!” He screamed into her face and grabbed her.

“And how do you know this?” She asked.

“Kaneki told me!” He screamed, tears rolling down his face.

“Sasaki, calm down, its okay, you are having a breakdown, just try breathing slowly” Akira soothed him.

“B..but they are coming!” He whispered, a sob ripping from his throat. Akira held him, gently stroking his hair as he cried.

“They are not coming, Arima has gone with his squad to stop them in their tracks at the 4th ward. They won’t make it here. Do not worry” She whispered, pulling her phone out to call up Arima. Haise felt betrayed that he had gone out without him, even if he knew it was the best thing to do. Maybe his Quinx had gone too? Without their mentor..

 _“They are coming Haise, she doesn’t know yet…”_ Kaneki spoke from where he was seated.

“Ka…Kaneki says otherwise” Haise whispered into Akiras ear.

\--

“Hahah, looks like it’s filled with lots of bodies to eat!” Seidou, bit down on his knuckles again. He was perched outside the main CCG office building. The one full of investigators and bodies full of juicy blood jam. “Hmmmm” Seidou sighed, tasting the sweet taste on his tongue even though he hadn’t even taken a bite yet.

Spider watched carefully, standing next to the crouching Seidou he could see Tatara on the opposite building with 100’s of Aogiri grunts. Eto was around the other side of the sky scraper, hidden from view. Ayato was on the ground, watching from afar. He was hoping to get Hinami back. He knew Cochlea was in the 23rd ward, but he also had a feeling the CCG were keeping her here also.

“Ready” Spider said to Seidou as Tatara raised his hand.

“LETS GO HAHAHAH” Seidou screamed as he saw the signal and flung himself into the side of the CCG building, using his Kagune to hold on and smash into the window. He rolled and landed in a heap of blood and glass, his Kagune sprawling out behind him to stop his motion. He stood up, sniffed the air and breathed in the heavenly sent of human flesh.

“I wonder who I will eat first.” He pondered, touching his hand to his chin in thought. Around him people were screaming and fleeing, an alarm had sounded and Spider had just come in through the broken window. His Ukaku kagune spreading out. His Ukaku was large, consisting of 8 appendages, 4 on each side of his shoulder blades. The appendages were covered in hair like projections that could crystallise and be shot out if needed. They resembled spiders legs, but where glowing golden with red streaks coursing throughout in lightning bolt patterns.

Seidou aimed for a small employee, she was obviously a cleaner of some kind, carrying disinfectant and rubber gloves. Seidou landed upon her and in one quick swoop her head was gone, her scream taken from her in a burst of blood as seidou sucked the juices out of her decapitated head.

Spider watched Seidou and sighed, walking along the corridor where he saw a chaos of people evacuating. And the screaming of a regocnisable voice.

“Kaneki” He breathed and began to run towards the screams.

\--

“I TOLD YOU” Haise screamed in Akiras face as the alarms sounded. “HE WAS RIGHT HAHAH” Haise’s kakugan was blaring and Akira had got her Quinque out and ready. She dialled Arima’s number on her phone and told him to come back immediately.

“Kaneki!” A voice sounded through the panicked cries and sirens.

“Kaneki! I found you!” There it was again. Haise could see Kaneki still sat in his seat, watching the chaos unfold.

 _“He’s talking to you”_ Kaneki said loudly and suddenly disappeared from sight. _“Go find him”_

Haise followed the voice, and Spider came crashing down the corridor into his arms. He ripped his mask from his face and pulled the Investgator into a strong hug.

“I knew you were alive, I just knew it! And I finally found you!”

“Wait… Who are you though?” Haise questioned. He felt a headache rise within his skulls.

“Hideyoshi Nagachika” Hide said, tears of joys in his eyes.

 _“You found him, don’t ever lose him”_ Kaneki spoke, his voice deep inside Haise’s mind.

“I won’t” Haise whispered back to Kaneki.


	5. Captivity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small filler-like chapter...

Arima’s squad pulled up outside the CCG main office. Hundreds of office workers and part-timers were fleeing the building, jumping into the closest safety vans to be whisked away to somewhere safe. The entire building was on lock down and deep resounding alarms pulsated through the walls. Helicopters swooped overhead with soldiers hanging out holding onto their RC guns. They were framed in the backdrop of the evening sky where clouds had begun to hang over the building in a scrutinising veil. The overall atmosphere was shrouded with the possibility of rain.

Arima stepped out of his vehicle, briefcase in hand. He surveyed the area as his team members began their assault on the surrounding Aogiri grunts. As it turns out they were much faster at moving than he had anticipated which lead to this attack on the CCG HQ without him around. It put the CCG at a fault, but he knew he could win back against Aogiri.

“What are the ghouls to look out for?” A team member spoke. He was clutching his gun close to his chest and was shaking slightly.

“Tatara, Owl, Spider-“Arima listed them off. They were some of the strongest members of Aogiri. “Watch out for the Owl, do not let him come into contact with Haise” The soldiers and investigators saluted Arima Kishou and ran off into the midst of the battle. Arima knew he had one place to go and that was to Haise’s side. He could not afford to lose him.

\--

“Kane- Haise” Hide spoke. “You may not remember much about who I am, but you have to come with me, please” His kakugan was glowing, Haise had never seen anything like that at all. Haise shook his head, he couldn’t leave his family, his squad. What would he do with Arima and Akira? He simply couldn’t leave…

“I...I can’t leave…” Haise stuttered, tears falling down his cheeks. Akira who was busy fighting with some Aogiri grunts looked over to the 2 males. She sighed, finishing off one last grunt, stabbing him through his mask and into his eye. His kagune went limp as he slumped to ground in a heap along with the others. Akira turned and walked towards Haise and Hide. She knew who Spider was. An SS rated ghoul, but she didn’t know it was Hideyoshi Nagachika.

“Haise, step away from that man!” She ordered, placing herself between the too. Hide watched with fear in his eyes as Akira separated the 2.

“Akira, it’s me… Hideyoshi” Hide said, his eyes watching Haise who was still crying. He was holding his head in pain as headaches surged forward, bringing along his memories.

\--

_“So… if you were a ghoul would you eat me then?”_

_“What no, I don’t know… I’m not a ghoul!”_

_“Hahah good, cos I would eat you anyway”_

_Kaneki blushed, hiding his face in his hands from his lover. Hide pulled them away, exposing those rosy red cheeks._

_“But first… how about a small kiss” Hide whispered, taking Kaneki’s lips with his own._

\--

Haise found himself on the floor, rocking back and forth. His eyes were tightly shut but tears still surged forward. He saw that memory in great detail… and what happened afterwards.

“H..Hide” Haise whispered. Akira had her quinque poised and ready to strike at Spider.

“You are not Hideyoshi Nagachika anymore. You are a ghoul” She hissed, lifting her quinque. She brought it down with force, aiming for Hide’s head but something blocked it, something she didn’t register until she was flying through the air backwards at a tremendous pace. She hit the wall, her breath knocked out her lungs.

“DO NOT HURT HIM” Haise screamed through tears. He was stood in front of Hide. His arms spread and his Kagune bolt straight, creating a sort of shield. His kakugan was glowing fiercely for this person. He still hadn’t pieced it together, he knew this person was in his past. He knew he cared deeply for this person but it felt weird. Like it wasn’t real.

Arima came running up the stairs, IXA in his hand and pointing towards Haise. In his other hand was a gun in which Akira and Haise recognised as the RC Suppressant gun. The quinx squad followed closely with Arima and Juuzou’s squad followed close behind, some of the soldiers going to Akira’s care.

“Sassan! Calm down!” Mutsuki called, his Kakugan flaring and his Kagune trailing behind him as he ran towards his Mentor. Shirazu and Urie hung back along with Saiko, watching the scene unfold.

The sound of the gun blasted through the eardrums of them all and as soon as the needle left the barrel is was imbedded in Haise’s neck. He felt the fire in his veins as his Kakugan died out and his Rinkaku disappeared into thin air. He felt a weakness surround his body and he fell to his knees.

The gun sounded again. This time Spider was the one who collapsed. He reached out towards Haise, his hand grasping for the young man.

“Kaneki… don’t go…” He whispered, succumbing to the effects of the suppressant. Haise soon followed, lost to the limbo of his mind.

 _“Who knows what they are going to do to you now…”_ Kaneki spoke loudly into his ears. _“Whatever you do, do not lose Hideyoshi Nagachika.”_ His voice had changed to pleading and his felt the wetness on his neck where Kaneki had buried his head and sobbed quietly.

\--

“HAHA SO MUCH GOODNESS, OH MY GOD IT TASTES SO AMAZING!” Seidou took in mouthfuls of flesh, relishing in the tastes. He fell backwards, lying on the floor and sighing in content. “It’s so good…”

“Seidou... let’s go you idiot” Ayato’s voice told him, grabbing Seidou by the hair and yanking him up. “We need to get Sasaki Haise”

“Can I eat him?”

Seidou laughed manically, taking in his Index and Middle fingers in his mouth to gnaw on.


	6. Severed Voice

Gunshots rung in his ears. The sound of crying, screaming and groaning added to the mess. He could feel the stickiness of blood as it spurted from nearby investigators. He could sense the pulsating Kagunes as they sliced through weak flesh. He could feel the burn of the suppressant inside very blood vessel, every nerve ending, every receptor and organ of his entire being. He could see the static image of Kaneki sat across from him. His grey eyes were wide and watching.

The ringing of alarms tormented his eardrums. He could hear the cries of his squad members as they fought for their mentor. If only he could do something. If only he had the power to break free from this paralytic drug. Kaneki laughed, knowing it was impossible. He had been through it all before.

 _“Remember the time with Yamori?”_ He hissed.

_“Do you know the only way to inject a ghoul with RC suppressants is? Saying you only had a standard needle and not quinque steel?”_

Haise could see a flash of images present themselves. He could see a dark room, a checked floor and a huge ceiling of glass and steel girders. He saw the table of torture tools and the dried blood upon them.

“No..no.. I don’t….. I don’t want to remember this…” Haise groaned, feeling a hot sting to his eye as the needle pierced through. He tried to arch away from the pain but the shackles cut into his wrists and ankles. He felt the stickiness of blood again, pooling down his face and onto the floor. He could hear the sadistic laugh of Yamori as a screamed ripped away from his vocal chords.

 _“Haise you won’t be strong if don’t remember”_ Kaneki spoke from the opposite of the cavernous room. Even Kaneki looked distraught as he watched the scene unfold. Deep down he didn’t want to ever see this again, but he knew it was for Haise’s own good.

“P..lease, Kaneki, please, stop this” Haise begged. A crunching sound echoed, along with a small plop as his big toe hit the floor. Before Haise could even process what had happened a blood curdling cry leached from his throat. His throat felt torn and the taste of his blood coated his tongue and lips as yet another toe was detached from his body. A scream surged out but was only produced as a small, pathetic whimper.

 _“You need to figure out what is going to happen once you wake up”_ Kaneki told him, his eyes focused on Yamori who was to preoccupied with taking each toe off. Kaneki’s eyes seemed to hold a bitterness within them as he glanced at the tall suited man. His mouth was partly open in a scowl and his Kakugan was igniting from the sight of him. Haise still couldn’t piece together his memories but from Kaneki’s reaction to see the torturer was all he needed to understand why this was such an important memory.

Oh how much Haise wanted to view a memory of Hide, or Hinami or even Touka… He didn’t care what it was, as long as it wasn’t this. He felt a hot slice in his forearm as Yamori had pulled out a saw blade and was sawing back and forth through the pale flesh of his arm. Haise couldn’t scream, only blood gurgled out from his mouth as his vocals chords ripped apart within him.

 _“Haise. What. Are You. Going. To. Do?”_ Kaneki went on. He knew Haise wasn’t going to be treated well by the CCG after this ordeal.

“I will… I will leave the CCG. Take Hide and Hina w..with me” It was as if everytime he communicated with Kaneki his voice was back and healed, but every time he was subjected to the torture his voice was gone in a flurry of blood and squeaks.

 _“You will leave the CCG? What, and leave your squad? They look up to you like a father.”_ Kaneki scoffed. He would love to be back with his friends, Touka, Hinami, Yoshimura, Nishiki, everyone at Anteiku. He would love to be back with Hide. He missed those lips so much, he missed his laugh and his bright attitude. But Kaneki knew Haise was cared for but his Squad, Akira, Arima and even Juuzou and some of his Squad. They both had their families. But they couldn’t share the same body.

“I don’t know what to do…” Haise whined. His arm had been removed now and Yamori was eating it in front of him. As the large man did so he picked up a device which looked like an ice scream scoop.

“I’m going to gouge your eyes out next” Yamori laughed, biting into the pale skin of what was once his arm.

\---

“I wonder what he will taste like” Seidou murmured, stabbing through an investigator and ripping his organs out in a flash. Ayato scoffed and shot a round of crystals at another investigator.

“You are not allowed to eat him. It’s orders from above” Ayato informed the crazed Owl. Seidou looked briefly disappointed but his attention was caught by a beautiful looking investigator. Seidou drooled, launching himself at her and sinking his teeth into her neck. Her juggler was ripped out and blood rained out. Seidou giggled and lapped up the sweet mess.

“Hurry Seidou, we don’t have time for you to taste everything. We need to get Sasaki Haise” Ayato screamed, grabbing Seidou by the hair and dragging him away from the dying woman. They made their way up the floors of the CCG building. Each floor was presented with a new set of investigators and soldiers and more people for Seidou to kill and eat. Soon, however they made it to the floor where Akira and Arima stood battling against the Aogiri grunts. The Qunix squad danced around, Kagunes out and fighting and Juuzou and his squad as gone further up into the building to fight off the forces coming down.

“Hahahaha, there he is!” Seidou exclaimed, wiping his mouth of drool when he saw the motionless investigator crumpled on the ground.

“And there’s Spider too!” Seidou ran at full speed, his Ukaku Kagune giving him a faster pace, towards the the 2 ghouls. However, before he could even process it, he had been flung back at an astonishing speed. He had a gaping hole through his abdomen as he smashed into the wall and landed in a heap.

“Aha, who… who did that then? That’s not very nice…” He coughed.

“Takizawa?” She looked down on him, her Quinque poised at his head. She caught a glimpse of him before at the Auction, but he ran away before she could do anything.

“Seidou what happened to you” Her voice wavered as she remembered the times they spent together. Seidou giggled and lifted his head. She was met with his glowing Kakugan and her mouth dropped.

“A…a lot of things happened to me…” He spoke, his grin was from ear to ear. He began to stand, his knees shaking beneath him.

“They… cut my arms off” He began. “They, stabbed me over and over again, they burnt me, they removed my organs… but… the regeneration of a ghoul is surprisingly fast isn’t it!”

He flew forward and up and over her head before turning on himself and kicking her between her shoulder blades. She slumped forward and was met with his Kagune piercing into the back of her neck. She tried to scream but the air had been knocked out of her.

“Sei...Seidou… Takizawa, please… snap-“ She coughed up blood “-Out of it…”

“Oh no, how about I snap your bones and eat your innards. I bet you taste very nice Akira San” He gripped her arm and bent it backwards and up towards him. There was a sickening crunch as the bone shattered at the elbow. She couldn’t scream even if she tried, the pain was so great it rendered her incapable of any form of noise.

Ayato had taken on Arima as a way of getting to Sasaki. And oh was it a bad plan. Arima knew Ukaku Ghouls, he knew they would run out of steam eventually, so by using his tactic of trying to exhaust the ghoul first he had discovered he had the upper hand. Well at least he did when suddenly he was met with a clawed hand wrapping itself around his frame. He followed the large arm to where it was attached and was met face to face with a large grin and single red eye.

“The One Eyed Owl…” Arima spoke, struggling against its amazing grip. The other hand had moved round to scoop up Haise and Spider where the beast cradled them close to it's chest.

“I will be taking these” A feminine voice hissed and the giant mouth gnashed together. “Everyone retreat!” The voice screamed, loud enough for the entire of Tokyo to hear.

And with that it was gone, along with Ayato who had no luck in finding Hinama. Seidou who was having a breakdown and Spider the Golden Ghoul. Tatara and Noro had both finished off some investigators before leaving as well as the rest of the Aogiri grunts.

\--

Arima sat next to Akira’s lifeless body. She was hooked up to lots of different tubes and patches. Her heartrate monitor showed a steady but awfully slow pulse and her breathing was shallow and painful.

“Sasaki is gone, Akira.” He whispered, stroking her hair away from her eyes as he placed a small kiss on her forehead.

The Quinx Squad sat huddled together, trying to get over the shock of their mentor being taken. Mutsuki was in tears and was cuddling up next to Saiko who was also in tears. Shirazu sat half away with a solemn look on his face and Urie huffed, he was upset too, but refused to show it.

“We are going to get him back.” Shirazu spoke. His voice laced with venom. “Whatever it takes.”

\--

 _“Oh look, you’ve been kidnapped…”_ Kaneki spoke, wrapping his arms around Haise’s cold body. The young man shivered into his grasp, shaking his head.

“This cannot be happening…” He whispered, all evidence of hope was gone from his voice. “This cannot be happening.”

_“Oh but it is…”_


	7. People In The Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd and some torture so don't read it if you are affected easily.

For days the Quinx squad spent their time thinking over the events of the attack on the CCG. They thought about how they could’ve saved their mentor, prevented Akira from being pulled into a seemingly eternal coma. They saw the look of depression of Arima Kishou’s face, the sadness in Juuzou’s eyes as he missed the snacks Sasaki offered to him. It was painful for all of them, and most importantly, a huge loss to the CCG’s power.

Sasaki Haise, the kid once known as Eyepatch who also went by the name Kaneki Ken. The unforgivable half-ghoul who cannibalised other ghouls to gain strength. To become one of the strongest ghouls out there in the broken world. And he had slipped from the CCG’s grasp. Only time will tell if Sasaki fully regains his memories and succumbs to Kaneki Ken. But from now and until then the CCG were working overdrive to formulate a plan to get the young investigator back and into their cage.

Washuu, the head chairman of the CCG had summoned Arima Kishou into his large meeting chamber. The room was airy, with large monitors lining the walls. Rows of seats surrounding a stage-like centre whe Arima was stood. Washuu was presented on a large chair, high up into the ceiling, much like a court room.

“Arima Kishou” Washuu spoke, his voice reverberating the entire empty room. He stroked his long beard a little, watching the younger special class investigator.

“Yes Sir?” Arima answered, his voice strong and just as powerful as his superior.

“I gave you ownership rights over Sasaki Haise, and he is now gone, taken by the forces of Aogiri” Washuu began, “How did you let this happen?”

Arima spoke confidently, explaining the issues Sasaki Haise had been dealing with. The visions, the voices, the memories, the breakdowns and panic attacks. He told the Chairman everything and that he was worried for Sasaki. He told him about going to fight Aogiri in a different ward, following a lead that turned out to be a dud, only for Akira to call him saying they had already breached the CCG’s forces. He told him about the appearance of the One-Eyed-Owl and how he simply could not fight back. He told Washuu how Sasaki was carried off, the suppressant still in his system, causing him to not be able to fight back.

“Arima Kishou” Washuu pondered over the monologue of events “You may continue to have ownership rights over Sasaki Haise, but you must get him back, that is now your main priority”

Arima was dismissed with nothing more than a nod and a head full of thoughts on how to tackle this problem. Aogiri knew they would be coming soon, so their defences will be strong and alert. But Arima could not afford to leave Sasaki any longer.

He would have to go check it out himself.

\--

“Isn’t he beautiful?” Eto trilled, spinning on the spot. Tatara was next to her, looking over their prisoner. Haise was strapped to a metal chair. He had quinque sharpened steel latched onto his wrists and ankles. It cut and dug into his skin every time he moved. His head was pulled back into the headrest, a large metal cuff around his neck that held him in place. The young man’s clothes had been taken and replaced with a basic t-shirt and shorts. Eto claiming it kept his modesty but provided more area to play with.

“You did well, Eto” Tatara spoke, pulling her into him and walking briskly away, leaving the chained Haise inside the dark, dank cell. Eto giggled and skipped along with Tatara.

“Let’s go see Spider, shall we!” She chirped, edging towards the next cell that was located opposite Haise’s. The same set up was located inside, with the Half-Ghoul Spider strapped into the metal seat as well. He too was stuck in a suppressant induced sleep. Mumbling the word “Ken” over and over. From where Spider was sat he would be able to see out of his Cell and at Haise. The thought made Eto warm inside when she envisioned the 2 having to watch each other get tortured. Oh how fun this is going to be, she thought.

Promptly after the 2 Aogiri members walked away, Spider roused from his sleep. He was groggy at first, his eyes opening and closing while seeing blurred vision. But it soon became apparent when he felt the bite of the sharpened steel against his wrists and ankles. He noticed his clothes were gone and replaced with a simple set of shorts and a t-shirt. His skin goosebumped as he felt how cold it was inside this place. Slowly his head arched up against the neck restraint, his eyes settling on Haise, whom of which was still lost in his sleep.

“H..Haise” Spider hoarsely whispered, he was so thirsty. “Haise… Wake up” He couldn’t seem to get his voice louder than that. But the male opposite him jerked violently in his sleep.

\--

 _“So when are you going to wake up Haise, you already know your fate, just let me have the body and we can both be free”_ Kaneki whispered, wrapping his arms around Haise and breathing into his neck. A sick smile was plastered onto his twisted face. Haise shook violently, trying to shrug the man off him.

“Hnng” Haise couldn’t talk, his voice was still taken from him from the previous vision. His throat was raw and it stung, however the blood had finally stopped flowing and he began to feel the tickle of his flesh stitching itself back together.

 _“Just wake up yeah?”_ Kaneki pleaded and he felt hot tears against his neck where the teenager was crying softly.  Haise tried his best to slip from the dream but it was so hard when it all felt so real.

“Haise!” A voice called through the fog of his mind. It lured him in. “Haise, please wake up!” There it was again, stronger this time. He could see a faint golden light, like how a sunrise colours the sky in many different hues. He wanted to head towards the warmth, the bright light where his felt somehow happy. Even Kaneki seemed to be drawn to it, reaching out with a frail hand to try and grasp the rays.

\--

He opened it eyes and was met with brown ones looking directly back at him. He knew this person. Someone from his past. A special person from his past. He must know him right?

“H..Hi…Hide?” His voice was unsure, he was still feeling the pain of his torn vocal cords. The boy opposite him smiled so wide it looked like it hurt.

“Yes! You woke up!” Hide happily exclaimed. “You took about 3 hours…” He murmured.

They both just stared at each other, moonlight eyes on earthy brown ones. Hide held a lovestruck smile and Haise sported a small flick in the corner of his lips. It didn’t match his bloodshot eyes however. But Hide didn’t care, as long as he had someone here with him.

“Well, well, well, looks like you are finally both awake huh?” A voice echoed throughout the cell block. It creeped through the shadows and into their ears, an eerie male voice. But the figure soon presented itself by jumping down behind Sasaki and stroking his hair softly.

“Sasaki Haise, nice to meet you!” He screamed, pulling the hair. Sasaki bit down on his lip and pressed against the restraints, only for them to cut into his delicate flesh.

“S..Seidou?” Hide whispered, watching the tall, cloaked man as his toyed with Sasaki’s hair.

“Yep that’s me! You remember our fight right Sasaki? At the Auction?” He laughed, a few strands of hair were detaching from Haise’s scalp. He muffled a groan at the pain.

“Answer me!” Seidou ordered, fully pulling away with a fist full of white and black hairs. Sasaki’s scalp burned and Hide growled, unable to do anything but watch.

“Y..Yes..” Haise whispered, he felt the searing pain get worse from his scalp as Seidou roughly stroked over it.

“Yes. What?” Seidou hissed, licking over the bald patch and down to Sasaki’s neck.

“Yes, Sir” Haise gave in, shivering from the warm tongue.

“You taste so good, I so wish I could eat you right now” Seidou laughed. “But that would be against the rules and I would be locked up again if I did so HAHAHA!” Instead Seidou pulled out a scalpel blade. A quinque treated blade actually. He positioned it upon Sasaki’s neck, the blade slowly pressed into his flesh.

“Please, don’t do it…” Sasaki whimpered and was met with the blade being pressed in harder. He felt his blood slowly drip from the wound and down his neck into the white shirt.

“They didn’t say I could taste you though” Seidou whispered into Sasaki’s ear before fully pressing down and slicing away and through the jugular. Blood rained out as Haise screamed loudly. Seidou manically pressed his mouth up against the gash, lapping up the delicious blood.

Hide thrashed against his restraints, watching the scene unfold. He couldn’t do anything, and he had never felt so terrible in his life. He sobbed slowly as the blood pooled on the floor.

\--

A day had passed, at least Haise had thought it was a day, maybe it was a week, or a month? He didn’t know and he didn’t have the mental strength to fully think about it. He just wished he was with the blond man before him, in his arms, snuggled and protected. But he wasn’t, he was strapped into an uncomfortable chair.

The previous day Sasaki had lost a lot of blood. Eto had dropped by to force feed him some human meat. It sped up the healing process and soon enough all that was left was a faded scar over his neck. Seidou kept popping back in, giving Haise dirty looks and saying how much he enjoyed tasting his blood. It creeped Haise out, he wanted to run and hide but instead he was subjected to the soft caresses Seidou placed upon him. He was thankful that the crazed half ghoul wouldn’t go far with it. He had only just stuck with sucking his blood, whispering things into Haise’s ears and stroking his hair softly. Still the young investigator wished he was with Hide.

Hide hadn’t been subjected to any torture yet. And somehow he was thankful, but anytime he saw Sasaki cry out in pain he would greatly swap positions if he could.

\--

 _“Haise accept me”_ Kaneki whispered into the darkness of Haise’s mind.

“I have haven’t I?” Haise spoke back. “We share the body, but I have control”

 _“Sharing the body isn’t enough, you are not strong like me, and I need to have control”_ Kaneki answered.

Haise couldn’t see a thing. His eyes had been gouged out and he had not been given food to regenerate. His over sense went into overdrive to make up for what was missing and it drove him insane. Every tiny sound would make him flinch, every scent of blood and human flesh made him hungrier and more ravenous. The only thing that kept him from losing it was the soft singing that Hide did for Haise every time he could.

Some of the songs were in English, but they were lovely all the same. Hide knew it calmed Haise down, especially when he couldn’t see.

It was the best he could do for now.


	8. Aogiri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings of torture up ahead.

He felt the fire burn into his skin. It reddened the flesh until it was charred and black. Thick blood oozed from the wound and pus began to collect in large blisters around the edge of the burn. Haise luckily couldn’t feel the pain as it was so deep it had melted away his nerve endings. Eto knew this and while laughing evilly she proceeded to move onto another body part. His fingers. She pulled out a pair of pliers that were coated in congealed and dried blood. The dirtiness of the steel repulsed Haise, he knew that object was going to inflict a wound on him somehow and the fact that it was covered with filth worried him even more. Can Ghouls get infections?

Eto grabbed Haise’s thumb, pulling upwards in a painful arc, causing Haise to compensate by lifting him arm directly into the sharpened steel. The wounds around his wrists had been open for god knows how long. They seemed to constantly ooze blood, but somehow regenerated just enough to not be killed. Eto placed the pliers over the knuckle of the thumb and squeezed gently until she had a strong grasp of the useful appendage. She held it there, taunting Sasaki by squeezing it harder and then relaxing a couple times. She loved the way his face scrunched up in anticipation for the pain that was to come.

“You should remember this” She spoke, her voice was curdling with poison. “When you were with Yamori, for 10 days”

It was true that Haise did remember, but the memories were still mismatched and ripped apart. He could only form basic scenes in his head of what happened. He was thankful he couldn’t fully formulate the full 10 days of torture. The look on Kaneki’s terrified face said otherwise, he could remember every single second, minute, day of his time spent with Yamori. Haise felt a twinge as the pliers bit down into his flesh harder this time.

“Answer me you disobedient dog” She hissed, holding the grip until Haise spoke.

“I… I do… Kinda” He whimpered and it was obvious Eto was not pleased with the answer.

“Then I will make you remember!” She clamped down fully on the pliers and the sickening crunch that followed ignited every one of Haise’s nerves. He let out a strangled cry as he heard the soft thud of his thumb hit the ground. Eto repeated the process on all 8 of his fingers and both of his thumbs. The blood dribbled and bubbled as it pooled on the ground, but the pain was soon forgotten when Eto had brought back the burning tool.

“I wonder what will happen if I put this in your eye?”

\--

Arima sat in his office. Sasaki Haise had been gone for too long. Who know what Aogiri could’ve done to him in this time period? It terrified Arima to think his precious subordinate was being bended like a stick at the hands of Aogiri, and if Arima knew Sasaki well then that stick is going to break.

The man stroked his chin, reclining back in his chair as he thought through the possible ways to locate Aogiri. Rumour had it that they had taken up base in the destroyed part of the 20th ward. Where once a small Ghoul organisation had stayed. He remembered the case file, a cute little coffee shop with a dark secret. He remembered how it lead to the capture of Kaneki Ken and then so on, fast forward the present day where his now Sasaki Haise had been taken from him.

Brilliant, he thought, sighing heavily and resting his head in his palms. He had to go there now and not dawdle, Sasaki may be long gone by the time he gets there though.

\--

The singing kept ringing into his ears in perfect melodies and rhythms. The tempo made Haise feel like nodding off, and with the accompanied darkness in his mind from his eyes being burnt out made him feel even more tired.

“Hide…” Sasaki whispered, scared Seidou was still around. He came by shortly after Eto was finished with him. He picked up his scattered fingers and slowly ate them in front of Haise. Even if the young investigator couldn’t see it, the sounds still made him sick. “…I really love your singing”

“You do?” Hide asked, breaking from the song. He smiled hard, looking at the blinded man. A twinge of guilt inside him as he looked into the charred remains of his eyesockets.

“Yeah… It helps me to calm down” Haise murmured, sleep overcoming him. He was not only fatigued but mentally and emotionally tired. Kaneki had finally stopped screaming inside his mind. All he could hear was the whimpering of a broken boy.

“That’s good to hear, Kan- Haise” Hide spoke. He wished he could grab the young man and sooth him more. Possibly kiss him, hard. But that person was gone now, he had to tread carefully to not scare him away.

 _“Ask him how he became a half ghoul”_ Kaneki sniffed. _“He used to be such a nice person, how could he have become a ghoul..”_

Haise felt a lump in his throat. He didn’t know Hide was a human once, he just presumed that Hide had been a Half-Ghoul just like himself. But for a Ghoul and a human to get together? It hurt Haise’s head to carry on thinking.

“Um… Hide?” Haise asked, not noticing the singing had begun again. The pale blond boy stopped.

“Yes?” He questioned.

“How did you become a Half-Ghoul?”

Silence. Haise thought his ear drums had been ripped out for a second, but soon a heavy breathing began to start. It was bordering hyperventilation and he knew he had triggered Hide.

“Hide it’s okay you don’t have to tell me-“

“I want to tell you” His voice was ragged.

And so he began.

Hide was caught by Aogiri not long after he and Kaneki had met in the sewers. The chunk of flesh Kaneki had taken from him had left him weak, unable to move so the Aogiri grunts moved in and kidnapped him. He disappeared off the face of the planet. But in the darkness of an underground laboratory Hide was being held captive and being experimented on. He had a Kakuhou implanted into him, but it wasn’t an ordinary Kakuhou. It had been tainted by chemicals and mutated into something unknown and more powerful. It was dubbed the Hyper Ghoul - A Half-Ghoul with a mutated Kakuhou. The man responsible for this was Kanou and when Hide spoke the name out loud, Haise heard the angered growl of Kaneki in his ears.

Ever since then Kanou gave the Hyper Ghoul to Aogiri where he was tortured relentlessly. Nevertheless it half worked, Hide being the Aogiri Tree’s dog, obeying every order and will with no care or thought of anything. Soon Hide come to realise what had happened to him, his hair was no longer the bright blond it used to be, instead it was a paler blond with white roots that was caused by severe stress during the torture.

Hide couldn’t bear to talk about it anymore, it was affecting him too greatly. So he skipped most of what happened in Aogiri to the point when the name Sasaki Haise popped up. From then on, Hide was hell-bent on trying to find this man who used to be known as Kaneki Ken, his best friend and lover.

Haise listened to every word that leaked from Hide’s mouth, even Kaneki listened, ‘hmm’ing every so often in agreement and gasping at some of the most shocking parts. It wasn’t long before both males fell into a sinister sleep, both dreading the next morning and what was to come.

\--

Arima was close by the 20th ward. His car was low on fuel and the nearest station was at the entrance to the ward, only a couple streets away from the locked down area where the Anteiku raid had taken place. The buildings there had never been rebuilt, it seemed to act as reminder to Humans and Ghouls the consequences of battle. But ironically, Aogiri utilised the unoccupied place to create their new headquarters.

He pulled up inside the gas station, filled the car and paid for fuel. Afterwards he pulled up infront of the fenced off zone. Large signs were plastered over the chain link fence.

**“DO NOT ENTER”**

**“IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO STEP FOOT ON THIS LAND”**

And so on.

Arima walked steadily towards the site of the old coffee shop, nothing but rubble and ruins now. He clutched his quinque case in his hand and stepped over the rubble to what was the back room of Anteiku. A large hatch was below his feet, unlocked but very heavy. Even so the large man pulled it off and began to climb down into the depth below.

“Welcome to Aogiri” He chuckled to himself as he descended the steel ladder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think yeah? I love comments.  
> Also a little bit of a background on what the fuck happened to Hide.


	9. Kaneki Ken

The odour hit him first. The scent of decaying flesh, the sickly smell of blood and the overall scent of sweat in the air. It didn’t help that it was muggy down here either. Moisture clung to his brow and his clothes stuck to him. Resounding steps echoed the large cavern below as Arima descended the ladder. The metal was rusted and warm on his hand, leaving an orange tinge. He grimaced as his feet finally reached the tiled floor.

The basement was a large square room and about 50ft high with a ceiling that was decorated with old wires and pipes that leaked to the ground below. The ladder in which Arima had just came down from ascended high into this ceiling with nothing but a small circular dot of light that was the entrance to this dirty place. Initially Arima thought this was just one large room that lead nowhere. He cursed the rumours he had heard, thinking he had come to the wrong place. But when an echoed moan presented itself from far deep into this rabbit warren of an underground base, Arima knew he was here.

With IXA clutched in his white-knuckled hand he treaded carefully towards the sound. The large cavernous room opened up into a maze of corridors and side rooms lit with flickering lights. He carried on walking, using his 6th sense to locate Sasaki.

Before long he came across another large room, however it was smaller in height than the first one. Inside was a group of Aogiri grunts, their cloaks illuminated in burgundy, standing around a small table covered in paperwork and notes. Arima carefully creeped up on them, readying his IXA to slaughter them all.

\--

Soft melodies echoed through the cell block and into Haise’s ears. His smiled to himself, soaking in the caressing tune. His eyes had begun to heal, the flesh gluing back together in a painful and itchy way. Hide watched as Sasaki’s eyes slowly reformed into beautiful pale grey irises and large pupils. Soon enough Sasaki could see again and he couldn’t bear to look away from Hide, a stupid smile was plastered on his face as the blond man carried on singing from the confines of his cell. Hide also smiled, picking up the pace in a crescendo of high notes followed by a low baritone.

“That was an English song… It was about how much someone means to you” Hide spoke after the last note, his eyes glanced away momentarily as a small blush formed on his cheeks.

“It was beautiful” Haise smiled, blinking a few times with his newly healed eyes.

“Yes it was very beautiful!” A scream echoed from down the small walk way between the cells. Seidou soon presented himself, a devilish grin on his face and his eyes wide as he entered Hide’s cell.

“We can have someone with a golden voice like you to be loud now can we?” He grinned, his black lips cracking as he grabbed Hide’s throat in his right hand.

“Wha… ARGH” Hide felt the pressure of fingers on his wind pipe as Seidou squeezed roughly.

“No more singing” He said, deadpan and he shoved his left hand down Hide’s throat, tearing out his vocal chords in one grasp and pull. Hide tried to scream but it was ripped from him in a gurgle of blood and tears. Seidou laughed manically, pulling his hand out and lapping up the fresh blood.

“Tsk, you taste kinda funny… maybe cos you’re the special ghoul right?” He frowned as he wiped the rest of the blood into Hide’s hair.

Sasaki struggled at his restraints, his mouth dropped as he lost his will to speak. Seidou just glanced at him, a glare in his Kakugans.

“You want me to do the same, pretty boy?” Seidou whispered, licking his lips. Haise shook his head violently, his eyes wide and terrified.

“Oh… but you taste so goooood!” Seidou jumped across the cells and into Haise’s. The man slinked up the restrained investigator, a bloodied finger gently contouring Haise’s jawline with blood. He finished by picking up Haise’s chin and holding him there. Haise averted eye contact as Seidou’s lips hovered deadly close to his own.

“Seidou, leave” Eto spoke. She had come in less than thirty seconds ago. “LEAVE!”

Seidou obeyed, whimpering softly as he scurried away from Haise and out the cell block. Eto sauntered up the young man and looked upon his frightened features. She smiled, thinking about what she was going to do now.

“Hmmm, I wonder what tools I should play with.” She hissed, picking up the quinque scalpel and then the hack saw. “How long will it take for my Kaneki to come back hmmm?”

Haise saw stars when he felt the hack sawblade slice into the skin of his forearm.

\--

 _“Please, Haise, Please…”_ Kaneki whimpered _“I... I need to kill her…. Just let… let m_ e”

“But if you take over, where will I go?”

_“I have no idea until we find out…”_

“I’m considering it… I’m not at all strong… I will end up in an endless cycle here… I can’t live my life being tortured…”

_“Then let me take over… I can save us”_

“Okay… I guess…. Thank you for everything Kaneki”

_“No, thank you, Sasaki”_

\--

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Kaneki hissed, yanking at the restraints. He glared at Eto who was half way through his arm.

“Sawing your arm off, of course!” She giggled, sawing faster. She noticed the signs of pain on Sasaki’s face had gone and what was only left was a cold, disappointed glare.

“Do you think that hurts?” Kaneki whispered, watching the flesh around the saw slowly knit back together. It was weird, Sasaki never healed this quick, maybe it was just a thing to do with Kaneki. Eto stopped sawing when the resistance built, she awed at the speed of regeneration. However another look fell upon her bandaged face. Realisation.

“Kaneki Ken?” She whispered, pulling out the sawblade. The flesh healed almost instantly. She glanced up at the man, steel grey eyes on her bandage holes. She smiled softly “You’re back”

“Well I know I’m not Sasaki” He answered, yanking again the restraints with more force this time. A small crack began to appear in the left wrist cuff. He felt his Kagune boil beneath his skin, the RC repellents still too much for it to come forth with crazy power. But he knew it wouldn’t be long till it wears off.

“This is amazing!” Eto exclaimed, the torture worked. She felt so delightful.

“You going to unlock me or something?” Kaneki asked, looking at the predicament he was in.

“Oh no, we are going to make your spine bend till you obey us relentlessly” She giggled harshly. Kaneki glanced over her shoulder and to Hide who was coughing up more blood.

“Hide” He whispered as he watched the boy struggle to breath.

“Oh? You 2 know each other?” Eto asked upon hearing the whisper. “How about I torture him? Will that make you change into the dog you should be?” She glanced at Hide and Kaneki took a sharp intake of breath. He had showed his weakness. Eto laughed and walked to the blond, pulling his head up, causing blood to spew from his torn vocal chords.

“I wonder how much fun we are going to have now that we have Kaneki Ken watching us!” She laughed, picking up the quinque scalpel.

\--

“Haise? Are you here?” Kaneki thought inside his mind. Searching out for the investigator.

No answer. Haise was gone.

\--

Arima tread down hallways after corridors after hallways. Nothing. He couldn’t find Haise at all, but at least he had dealt with most of the grunts. He called for backup on his work phone and a CCG Aogiri recovery team had been sent to recover Sasaki.

 Screams of agony came from a certain corridor and room. He ran with all his might to barred door that held the wails. It had 6 cells inside with a single walk way through the middle. He padded down the walkway and found who he was looking for and, well, who he wasn’t hoping to come across alone.

Eto turned from Hide and looked at the tall investigator.

“Oh?” She giggled “We have another person who has come to join the party!”

“No, I just want to get my gifts back” Arima hissed, driving his IXA at Eto and only missing her by an inch. She fled the room, knowing she was not effective in such a small area. She headed for Tataras office to warn him of a CCG attack.

Arima sighed, loosening his grip on IXA for the time being. He looked at Hide, notifying that it was the Ghoul Spider. Hide just stared back at him, brown eyes wide with pain and fear. Next Arima glanced at Sasaki, a smile fell on his features when he was met with the warm stare of Sasaki’s grey eyes.

“Sasaki” Arima started.

“No… Not Sasaki anymore” Kaneki whispered. He remembered the pain from having IXA driven through his eyes and brain. Arima’s face fell, a certain sadness that Kaneki couldn’t understand. Failure?

“Kaneki… I’m sorry for what I did to you” Arima apologised. Kaneki just scoffed, feeling his Kagune boil hotter than before. The suppressants had worn off almost completely and with that a single claw erupted from his back and made quick work of the restraints. Once he was up he ran to Hide’s side, quickly doing the same to his. Hide stood and pulled Kaneki into the tightest hugs ever.

“We have to get out” Kaneki told him and they took off down the halls. Arima followed, unsure how to go about this ordeal.


	10. Above Ground

I suppose the best way to describe this place was certainly a rabbit warren. Thousands of tunnels, corridors, pathways, hatches and ladders lead to different areas of the headquarters. It was unkempt, filthy and extremely dark. The electricity was limited down here as well as in the surrounding 20th ward above. The lights flickered from their glass bulbs, only barely illuminating Kaneki’s cheekbones as he fled down the hallway. His hand was linked in Hide’s, both their palms sweaty from nervousness but nevertheless they were together again so they didn’t care. The RC suppressants had fully worn off now, allowing Kaneki to produce 4 perfect rinkaku claws that spewed from his lower back. Hide also had his Ukaku Kagune out, cascading forth from between his shoulder blades, much like a birds wings. But the shape of his Ukaku took on a deadly sight in the form of spider’s legs. Large, segmented and covered in hair-like projections that mimicked the crystal points of citrine and smokey quartz where he shot out his RC bullets. The appendages were strong and mimicked Kaneki’s Rinkaku, the only difference being the positioning and the texture of the claw, or should I say leg? He could climb with them, jump high, spin, and fight, all the same things as a standard Ukaku user could do. Kaneki made a mental note to stop comparing Hide’s Kagune to Touka-chans.

Kaneki had good stamina and could keep pace for a long amount of time but in the time his body had been abused by Sasaki Haise he had lost some qualities he much preferred. His body was less muscular, matching to what his body use to be when he was 18, previous to becoming a ghoul. His breathing was raw as he tried to keep up pace. Hide slowly over took him, his Ukaku ability giving him extra speed. Hide’s hand squeezed Kaneki’s, pulling the 2 toned man along with him at a faster pace. Well you could say Kaneki had 2 toned hair, it was more or less white now, albeit a single black streak that came down from his crown and settled upon his fringe. The torture must’ve finished off what was left of his black strands, Kaneki thought. He made another mental note to dye it later, favouring the white colour he was ever so use to.

Arima kept pace with the 2 ghouls. He held a Suppressant gun tightly in the hand that wasn’t occupied by IXA. He was ready to shoot both males, too take them back to the CCG and to figure out what is going on with Sasaki’s memories. Nevertheless Arima had another side to him, a softer side where he wanted the 2 men to be happy together and leave them be. The darker thoughts flooded back to him, Kaneki is going to realise what the CCG had done to him and what Arima had done to him on the night of the Anteiku Raid all those years ago. Nothing will ever be the same again for Kaneki and the CCG and with him being an SS rated ghoul there was no doubt he would want vengeance on the CCG.

Soon enough Centipede, Spider and the Reaper reached the first cavernous room in which the Special Class investigator entered into. They hadn’t come across any Aogiri grunts, let alone Eto or Tatara. Not even Ayato or Naki or any deadly ghoul that could possibly want to stop the escape of their prisoners. Arima concluded this is what they want, for them to escape, then launch another attack on the CCG. He was stuck between sacrificing the CCG or taking the offensive onto Aogiri right now. However, he was the only capable investigator. The only CCG response team on site is the recovery team – designed to pick up and then get the hell out of dodge. He cursed inwardly, he knew the 2 male ghouls wouldn’t want to try and take on Aogiri after being tortured and placed into to such a weakened state. Arima decided to retreat, head back to the CCG and figure it all out.

“Are we supposed to go up there?” Hide croaked, his vocal chords healing slowly, but still he managed to obtain a croaky but understandable voice. Kaneki glanced to where the blond was pointing – a long metal ladder leading to a small manhole in the roof of the main room. He shrugged, glancing at Arima who was regaining breath behind them.

“I guess-“Kaneki begun.

“It is, I will lead the way” Arima but in, taking in a deep breath before he began to clamber up the rusted ladder. Kaneki and Hide followed, a scowl on Kaneki’s face at the thought of being cut off by the man who stabbed his eyes out. Either way, all 3 steadily made it up the ladder.

Arima poked his head out the hatch, looking around at the remains of the old coffee shop. He knew Kaneki would have to see what had come to his old home… If only there was a way to not make any more suffering come to the Half-ghoul – and stabbing his eyes out wasn’t an option. He slowly pulled himself up, standing shakily on rubbled remains as he saw the response van in the distance. The sirens where glowing in reds and blues, flashing past his face and reflecting off his eyes.

Kaneki was the next to clamber out the hatch, he took the chance to look down into the inky darkness one last time. A lone figure was stood by the ladder, a smile on her wicked features. Kaneki had to think who it was as she wasn’t wearing her bandages. It was Eto, smiling beautifully as she waved him off. Kaneki continued to leave the hole, climbing up until he was stood on his two feet. He glanced around, noticing the layout, the old unburnt wallpaper and smashed mugs that littered the ground. He realised he was in what was the aftermath of Anteiku. And there was nothing left. He felt emotions well up inside himself, he knew Hinami was safe, Touka was safe too. The others? He had no clue.

Kaneki grunted as Arima grabbed the man and promptly thrust up against a charred wall. Arima held him there, studying the younger man’s eyes as Hide pulled himself out and watched silently.

“Sasaki? Or Kaneki?” Arima asked. His voice monotone. Kaneki bit his lip.

“Sasaki is gone, Arima” Kaneki whispered, he seemed to miss the investigator already. Arima’s face fell slightly but he still kept up his professional, unemotional face.

“Then you are under arrest by the Commission of Counter Ghoul” Arima spoke, pulling out a syringe and plunging it into Kaneki’s neck. Hide ran forward, pulling Arima off Kaneki and placing himself between the 2 men.

“No, please, just let him go, he doesn’t deserve this!” Hide spoke, his voice dry and his throat itchy. Dried blood clotted his hair together and his eyes had a certain sadness laced upon them. “Please Arima, please, Kishou-San” Arima debated for a second, before finally whipping out another syringe and successfully plunging it into Hide’s outstretched arm.

“The Ghoul known as Spider, who once worked for the CCG under the name Hideyoshi Nagachika. You are also under arrest”

Kaneki slumped down the wall, his breathing slowing as he fell into a deep sleep. Hide collaspsed onto rubble and soon he was gone into a suppressant induced sleep. Arima stood watching the 2. Was this the right way to go about this? He thought sadly to himself.

\--

_“Hey, Kaneki”_

“Sasaki! You’re here?”

_“Yeah… Kinda hard to get rid of me isn’t it…”_

“Haha, it’s good to hear you Sasaki…”

_“Shush”_

“No really, thank you for what you’ve done…”


	11. Chance Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this short chapter... I damaged my hand.. whoops?

The chateau was stuck in an eternal quiet and the overall atmosphere was austere – depressed even. The inhabitants had succumbed to a severe low that shrouded their thoughts and wishes. Without their mentor they felt like they were no one… not even when they found out they were going to be given a new mentor.

They missed Sasaki. Ever since he was ripped from the CCG’s grasp, everything had gone to pot. They were dishevelled, bleak, and quiet. Saiko refused to leave her room and she hadn’t been eating. Urie spent his days in the training room, punching out his frustration on the dummies. Shirazu tried to keep himself together, for the sake of his squad. At first he made sure to cook, clean, to give them words of wisdom and motivation. Soon enough, however, it died out. He was left spending his days staying with Mutsuki, the 2 becoming closer and closer with each passing hour. Lastly, Mutsuki, who cried almost every night at the thought of Aogiri doing horrendous things to Sasaki, searched for comfort in the form of Shirazu.

Today, of all days, was when the news hit them like a punch in the face.

“Sasaki has been detained”

They all bit their lips, taking it in turns to read out the letter that had come through the mail. What had Sasaki done to be detained at Cochlea? Was it for his own protection? Did he attack the CCG? Who knows? The letter was top secret, meant for the Quinx Squad only, and it only stated the bare minimum of what they wanted to know.

\--

“So you have Sasaki Haise back then?” Washuu stated. This time the large conference room was full of investigators all chatting, and mumbling to themselves as the CCG Reaper stood before Tsuneyoshi Washuu, the Head Chairman of the Commission of Counter Ghoul. Arima nodded, opening his mouth to speak but was suddenly cut off by Washuu again.

“You went alone to the Aogiri hideout, without backup, without me accepting it” The old man started. “I could have to sacked from your job, Arima Kishou, but I won’t, because I know you only do what you’re best intentions are and you are one of the best CCG Investigators around”

Arima gulped.

“Next time you do something brash without the go ahead from me, there will be severe consequences. You are dismissed Arima Kishou”

\--

White halls, bright lights, barred windows, security cameras, guards, ghouls.

Cochlea had changed drastically since the last time Kaneki had been here, it was cleaner, larger and had double the amount of guards for security purposes. Dread was circling Kaneki’s mind, the thought of being locked up in a cage made him want to vomit. Maybe he could convince Arima he was still Sasaki and get taken out? No, because that means leaving Hide behind. Talking about Hide, the blond man was a few paces ahead of Kaneki with 4 guards around him. He was rabbiting on about coffee, or an embarrassing story about Kaneki from when they were little. You could tell the guards were having none of it, especially when one of them sighed and ordered the blond to shut the fuck up.

Kaneki had to stifle a laugh at the face Hide gave the guard. He then looked directly into Kaneki’s eyes and winked. Kaneki felt blush blossom on his cheeks as he looked at his feet and away from those prying brown eyes.

“You two shall be bunk mates” A guard began in a monotone voice “Orders from higher up” He presented the two young males with a small but cosy cell consisting of one bunk bed, a toilet, desk, chair and a bookshelf. He unlocked the door and pushed both males inside before locking it again and carrying on with the speech.

“Lab work is at 10am and meals are at 6pm-“

“Lab work?” Hide asked.

“Where the scientists experiment on you” The guard droned, completely oblivious to the shock on Hide’s face.

“Oh you’re that new breed aren’t you? They will have extra fun with you!” Another guard chimed in. “What was it? Hyper Ghoul? Right?” The other guards grunted in agreement.

“What are the meals?” Kaneki spoke up.

“A hunk of genetically modified flesh with a low RC count to stop you from going haywire” The guard hissed. “Yes we all know you are Centipede, there is something seriously wrong with you…. Mentally”

Kaneki felt himself shrink back, he found the bunk and sat, pulling his knees into his chest as tears began to fall.

“Okay well, that is the drill for now, Arima Kishou is going to visit you later” The guard finished, glancing at Kaneki before walking away with the others. Hide turned and sighed, looking down at the sobbing boy below him. He sat down and pulled the male into his body, stroking his hair softly.

“Shush, it’s okay, they are just guards, and they don’t know better, I’m here okay?” Hide comforted.

\--

She could hear their familiar voices. She could smell them too and how much that smell reminded her of her past.

“Brother?” She whispered out of her cell and the sniffling momentarily stopped. She could hear the padding of feet when 2 men appeared at the bars looking out.

“Hinami?” Kaneki whispered, reaching out his hand through the bars towards her. Hinami had a smile plastered on her face.

“You’re back?” She asked. Remembering her encounter with Haise Sasaki.

“Yeah, I am, I guess” Kaneki spoke. He could see a lone figure standing down the corridor. He looked familiar, 2 toned hair, CCG uniform. It was Haise and he was looking directly at Kaneki.

 _“I’m always here you know”_ He smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first we had Haise Sasaki hallucinating Kaneki Ken.  
> Now we have Kaneki Ken hallucinating Sasaki Haise.


	12. Insecure

The sky was tainted an orange glow from the flickering streetlights. Most of them had only just begun to switch on like beacons amidst a dark cave, but instead of a dark cave the light danced off windows and brickwork. It contoured the buildings it hit and bathed them in the sickly glow. The sky, above the orange hue, was a valiant blue, almost black as ink but still held enough ultramarine to make it look like that of a Navy Seal’s Uniform. The sun had long set behind the city skyline and all that was left was the light purple glow of a forgotten sun, silhouetting the skyscrapers.

A lone figure walked down the streets of Tokyo. Car’s rushed past in flurries of exhaust fumes and noise. The city never sleeps. The keyword being never. A long string of traffic marked its way along the small urban roads as the figure carried on walking. He held a briefcase in his hand, his knuckles white from the grip he had on it. Car lights flashes upon his features, slender but sharp with cold grey eyes and stark white hair.

Slowly he wandered up to the front plaza of a large building. Hexagonal in shape from above and surrounded by high wired fences laced with Quinque steel. This was Cochlea. The Ghoul Detention Centre. The plaza was nice, lined with small lamps built into the paths that formed it. They glowed blue, some red, giving the place a comfortable feeling. Small shrubs and trees were pruned into a little shapes and benches lined the pathways where another lone Investigator sat, his briefcase on his lap.

“Arima, good evening” The man stood and bowed, Arima sighed, looking away from the bow. He didn’t need this kind of worship.

“Evening Taishi” Arima responded and Taishi pulled him into a hug.

“Long time no see huh?” Taishi laughed.

“We saw each other the other day” Arima deadpanned, looking at the other investigator. He smiled however, a small prick at the corners of his mouth.

“Yeah well…” Taishi spoke “You’re here to see the new detainees, right?” The man looked into Arima’s piercing grey stare. A small nod was exchanged as they both began to walking into the main entrance of Cochlea.

“This place has really gotten better, don’t you think?” Taishi began “Ever since that Aogiri attack”

“I guess” Arima said, nothing more. They made their way to the main desk. A young woman was sat by a computer, she had her phone in her hand and was texting rapidly on it. Arima cleared her throat and the girl was startled, she dropped her phone and apologised.

“Arima! Hello, sorry!” She began “You are here for Inmates 11 and 12 right?”

Arima nodded in response and the Receptionist smiled. She then pulled out the papers needed and ordered the two investigators to sign before proceeding to the RC gates. Arima stepped through, followed by Taishi. The reception smiled and waved them off before going back to her texting.

Much like the Aogiri HQ, this place was a rabbit warren. A more organised and clean rabbit warren however. It mimicked that of a hospital – white lights, walls, doors, and the lot. The smell of antiseptic was stuck in the air as well as the sweet of flowers from the various potted plants that lined the hallways. Many doors exited off the hallways, leading to offices, interrogation rooms and holding rooms. Cochlea had been built into the ground as well as up. Underneath the Investigator’s feet were hundreds of cells, all holding deadly ghouls from S, SS and SSS. The higher levels held less powerful ghouls with ranks of A, B and C.  Spider and Centipede are classed as SS rated ghouls and so are on the 2nd basement floor. In which Arima and Taishi had to go to through a series of elevators and stairwells. The building was purposely built to be confusing to stop the escape of Ghouls.

Soon enough they found themselves on the floor they needed. There were 26 corridors on each floor, listed from A to Z and each having 20 cells lined on each. The young ghouls were situated on corridor E and in cell 5, one of the few shared cells. The interior design was the same as the ground floor, white. But it was less kept and messier, this is because not many people come visit the lower levels. Arima carried on walking down the corridor he mentally noted the cells as he went past. Cell 1, 2, 3 – Until he got to cell 5 where he found the 2 young men huddled together on the bed.

“Ehem” Arima spoke, jolting the young ghouls from their limbo. Spider jumped up and never looked away from Arima. Kaneki slowly got up and padded across to the barred door. He looked extremely dishevelled and depressed. He gave Arima the most pained look a person can give.

“I’m sorry Arima-san” Kaneki spoke, trying his hardest to be similar to Sasaki. In his mind he could hear the young first class investigator laughing. Arima had a fatherly look on his face, the same softness he would give to Sasaki in times of need.

“I’m here to make you an offer, Kaneki-Kun” Arima spoke, leaning on the bars. Taishi stood away from the 2, his briefcase in his hand, ready to be used at any moment.

“Come work for the CCG” Arima needed Kaneki, he was the CCG’s biggest breakthrough in power against the opposing Ghoul forces. Kaneki bit his lip and glanced back at Hide who gave him a soft look.

“I will say yes, but only if my friend here, Hideyoshi Nagachika can be accepted as well” Kaneki spoke, smiling softly. Arima sighed and looked back over to Taishi.

“I will have to consider it to the higher ups, Kaneki” Arima began “And im not on good terms with them at the moment”

“Tell them that he is a hyperghoul” Kaneki offered “He’s a new breed of ghoul, certainly stronger than me?” Kaneki looked back at Hide who was shying away slowly. “I and Hide were in the same boat, we both got experimented on, I had a normal Kakuhou place into me and he had a mutated Kakuhou placed inside of him. I’m a Rinkaku and he is an Ukaku. We are strong together, please let us be partners.”

“I can’t promise you Kaneki” Arimas eyes glided to the small streak of black that burst from Kaneki’s white roots. He smiled internally, it was as if Sasaki was still here. Kaneki sighed, taking a step back.

“I’m not going to lose him again” Kaneki argued. “I can’t function without him! Even without my memories! It felt empty, my life!” Tears formed in his eyes.

“Why did you do this to me! Why did you get rid of my memories! I had friends, family even. People who loved me! But I got turned into some nobody with a fake name and fake memories and fake life and fake everything!” Kaneki screamed, his Kakugan flaring up. Arima made a mental note to up the Suppressants. Hide pulled the white haired man into his arms, comforting him.

“I think it’s best if you go now” Hide spoke, venom laced in his voice. Is Golden kakugan was glowing harshly.

“I will be back soon, with news” Arima spoke before leaving briskly. He knew he had done something wrong, to take someone’s life without killing them and turning them into an empty shell with lost hopes and confused memories must’ve been hard. He had to make it right, he needed Kaneki and Hide with the CCG.

\--

They hadn’t had their meal tonight and both males cuddled with hungry stomachs. The sat in silence with the occasional sniffling coming from Kaneki. Hide tried his hardest to comfort him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear, rubbing circles into his back, gently kissing is forehead. But what the CCG had done to him was just as bad as what Aogiri had done to him all those years ago.

Why couldn’t they both find peace?


	13. Cloudburst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter, my thumb is still screwed.

At first he was stood alone in a never ending meadow. It was full of colours, awash in light and darkened greens, golden yellows and earthy browns. The grass tickled his feet as the blades grew between his toes and up his leg. Butterflies fluttered about the beautiful flowers, dandelions, daffodils, violets, chrysanthemums and blue bells. They grew tall in a sea of soft petals and sharp stalks. The breeze was cool, followed by warm currents that caressed his skin into goose flesh and shivers. It was comfortable though, he felt safe, calm, as if he was finally at rest.

However, his eyes caught that venomous looking flower that seemed to grow taller than the rest. When butterflies landed on it they would shrivel into worms and finally die. He felt a pain in his heart and a searing hot stab through his eyes. The flower was a deep crimson, like blood, and it also faintly smelt like iron. It made his stomach rumble, the scent of blood was so enticing at the moment. It was like strawberry sauce – sweet and tart. Oh how he could drink it all up.

 _“Very nice flowers aren’t they?”_ Another figure spoke, a voice like an echo of someone long gone. He picked one, pulling the stalk apart and bringing the slender, spider-like petals up to his face.

 _“Spider Lillies”_ He whispered, relishing in the scent _“Would you like a sniff, Kaneki?”_

He walked towards Kaneki, the grass blackening with every step and more spider lilies began to sprout and form from the remains of the previous ones. He offered the large flower up at Kaneki’s face, the smell of blood so tantalisingly strong for his likening.

Kaneki found himself flying through the air. The other male was latched onto him as they both fell into the flowers. Kaneki was posed over him and a sense of dejavu hit him so hard it made him gasp in pain. Stormy, bleak clouds gathered ahead as the meadow began to transform into a sea of red.

“Sasaki” Kaneki whispered. Sasaki smiled, his eyes closed as the clouds burst into dark rain.

Kaneki sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of Sasaki’s neck, the wave of blood splattered his face and dribbled down his neck as he slurped it up greedily.

 _“That’s right Kaneki, eat, its okay”_ Sasaki comforted, stroking the man’s hair. His voice was slightly tainted, distorted even. It sounded familiar with a feminine touch. Kaneki was too busy tasting all the sweet juices that spilled from the young investigators neck to realise who it was.

“Rize…” Kaneki sobbed, looking down at the pale girl. All life had left her eyes. She had pretended to be Sasaki…

\--

“Inmates 11 and 12 please prepare yourself for Lab work” A tannoy called and Kaneki was ripped from his dream. He sat up, his hair a mess and saliva ad dried around his mouth. He couldn’t feel Hide’s precesece either and he felt a wave of panic hit him.

“Hide?!” He called, standing up and looking around.

“Uh, here…” Hide called back. He was on the loo, looking at Kaneki with blush tinting his cheeks. “Turn around will you!” Kaneki gasped and spun around. He held his head in his hands, a smile hidden underneath as he realised Hide was still here, albeit on the loo.

5 guards appeared outside their cell, ready to escort them to the laboratory. Kaneki noticed the far one on the left, a tall man with greying hair. The one who made fun of him – calling him mentally unstable. He felt hatred tear at his guts as he watched the snot-nosed man smirk back at him.

“Hurry up you two!” A guard banged on the cell door and Hide appeared by the side of Kaneki, he grinned, giving Kaneki a squeeze before heading out of the cell.

\--

The waiting room was small and lined with hospital beds. It also had stuffed arm chairs and a massive viewing window down into the lab. Inside the lab were tables, like operating tables, with lights, tools and all the relevant stuff you would need to operate. Lots of workers fumbled about, preparing their work spaces and running to and from supply rooms. Kaneki gulped and he hugged himself, pinching his elbow softly until he felt Hide’s warm embrace around him.

“How can you be so calm?” Kaneki asked, looking into Hide’s eyes and biting his lip. Hide smiled and shook his head.

“I have a good mask” Was all he said before he placed a small kiss onto Kaneki’s forehead.

They were both roughly taken into the lab and forced onto the tables. Wrist cuffs and ankle cuffs held them in place as the doctor’s placed a needle full of RC type anaesthesia into their arms. They were knocked out almost instantaneously, lost into the dream world once again.

\--

“So when do you think we can see Maman again?” Saiko asked Arima, her eyes bulging with hope. Arima had visited the Quinx, he had come to talk about the possibility of a new mentor but instead the conversation kept steering towards Sasaki Haise.

“You can visit him next time I visit him if you like?” Arima offered and every single quinx member grunted in approval.

\--

Arima was back with the Chairman. This time in his office. They were going to discuss the matters of Kaneki Ken.

“So can we have Kaneki Ken back on the CCG’s side?” Arima asked as the old man stroked his beard slowly.

“Yes, however, he is going to need more observation this time”

“Understandable, I also have one more request”

“Go on?”

“Hideyoshi Nagachika, can he also join the CCG?”

“You know the dangers of a ghoul?”

“Yes but we have allowed a ghoul in before so this time won’t be any different. He is also a different type of ghoul... and he and Kaneki are very close. They could become partners and be a great asset to the CCG”

“Arima, I always knew you had a wonderful spirit. But I don’t want you to think I am spoiling you… Yes, Mr. Nagachika can also join...”

“Thank you sir, that is very kind”

“They will both be the new Quinx Mentors”

 


	14. Caged Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this late chapter.. I had writers block.

The cell was quiet when he roused himself from his forced sleep. He ached everywhere, his back being the most painful. He reached around the rub the area, feeling small stitches lining where the doctors has made their incision to look at his Kakuhou. He had been through this all before when Kaneki had first came to the CCG, the time when he was Sasaki Haise. They played with him for days before deeming him safe and capable to become a ghoul investigator and mentor. However, the information they had obtained the first time had led to the Quinx creation, and in some way Kaneki, even though he wasn’t Sasaki anymore, still cared for the squad of artificial ghouls.

His eyes were dry and foggy as he scanned the room from his bunk. Hide wasn’t back and there was a deathly silence encasing the cell. The footsteps of guards could be heard outside, echoing down the corridors, but none where getting any nearer…

Kaneki began to sit up. As his centre of gravity moved he felt a pounding in his head. He winced, slamming his eyes shut as the pain wore off in time. When he opened them again he saw a small plate on the desk. A red substance was placed on it, meat. It wasn’t like the typical slurry that the Cochlea gave though, and it also gave of a very welcoming scent. Kaneki hummed, feeling his mouth getting wetter with anticipation as he took a shaky step towards the plate. There was also a note with scribbled kanji and characters over it.

**“This is for you, Kaneki Ken.**

**A quality piece of meat from a person who had committed suicide, not any of that garbage they give you at cochlea.**

**We need you to get your strength up, I will be visiting soon.**

**Arima”**

Kaneki smiled, holding the note in his hands. Arima still cared for him, even though Sasaki was gone, or maybe it was just a way to make Kaneki like him more, or to bribe him tighter into the CCG’s grasp. Kaneki set the note down with a trembling hand as he looked at the piece of meat. Enough fat and muscle, juicy looking too. He couldn’t help but drool as he gazed upon his meal.

But then something snapped inside him, like a voice, or reflex. It was telling him to not eat it, that he was human and that it was wrong. He poked the flesh, it had been warmed up, but the nausea in his stomach was too strong for the scent. He doubled over and vomited nothing but water and bile. With a grunt he fell into the foetal position, his stomach like a fierce fire, burning him from the inside out because of hunger.

He couldn’t eat it.

He felt tears welling up as a sob left his mouth. After all this time, and after all he had been through… he still couldn’t eat properly.

\--

Hours passed as the plates contents grew colder and harder. Kaneki had found himself a corner to sit in, his knees to his chest as he rocked back on forth slowly. He was mumbling incoherent things and twitching every so often. He kept scratching his ear, still feeling the sound of the centipede scratching and clawing inside.

Guards had arrived at the cell door with a hospital bed in tow. Kaneki caught the glimpse of matted golden hair and immediately felt better. He stood, walking over to the cell door and watching as the blond slept peacefully.

“Centipede step back!” A guard shouted, pointing his RC gun at Kaneki’s face. The male unhooked his hand from the bars and took a few steps back into the dark cell. He watched as they unlocked the door and scooped Hide up to set him down on the bunk. They soon left, locking the door and tapping down the corridor until Kaneki couldn’t hear the thudding of their boots anymore and nothing but the soft breathing of Hide and the crying of a lonely girl.

“Hina?” Kaneki questioned out into the dark corridor. The response was a sob.

“Hina, shush, it’s okay. I’m here” Kaneki comforted.

“I’m so lonely Oni-chan” A small voice responded between sniffs. Kaneki felt his heart drop.

“I’m here, Hina, you aren’t alone” Kaneki whispered.

“I don’t like it in here…” Another sob.

“I’m going to get you out” Kaneki promised, his hand reaching out towards the opposite cell, reaching for her.

\--

“Wow, I totally smashed you Kaneki!” Hide yelled, sitting up in the bed with a massive smile stretching from ear to ear. It soon went away when he realised he was in his cell again and not in the dream world playing video games with Kaneki.

“I bet you did” Kaneki smiled, sitting down onto the bunk and pulling the blond into a hug.

“Hah, I was dreaming about that time we played Mario Kart…” Hide rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his tufty hair. His smile lingered as he relinquished the memory.

“Hmm, my thoughts and memories are still fuzzy, I think it was because of Sasaki being an amnesiac or something...” Kaneki started, trying to pry through all the memories of him and Hide and all the fun they had.

“Well you are Sasaki so that makes sense” Hide stated, shifting in bed to allow Kaneki to lie down with him.

“Am I?” Kaneki asked, thinking about how they were separate personalities. Hide nodded and wrapped an arm around the male.

“Yeah, you share the same body, just Sasaki didn’t have any memories of his past, and you do”

Kaneki felt sick, he had always believed he was another person to Sasaki Haise, but in reality Sasaki is Kaneki and Kaneki is Sasaki. The same being with different memories and loves for people. But it always ended up with the same conclusion. They were one being.

 _“He’s right you know”_ Sasaki whispered and Kaneki didn’t answer, not wanting to allow Hide to hear him speak to an invisible person.

“Hide-“Kaneki asked.

“Yes?”

“He’s in my mind…”

“How do you mean?”

“I can see him, hear him… all of that.” Kaneki grimaced.

“We can get you some help, you know, too talk about it?” Hide offered “You know I can only do so much”

\--

His office was a mess of paperwork and books stacked as high as the empire state building. His desk light illuminated the features of his face as he ran through Kaneki Ken’s and Hideyoshi Nagachika’s files. Due to certain circumstances Kaneki will be directly made back into the First Class, Quinx Mentor and sadly, Nagachika will be going through more tests due to his type of Kakuhou and will not be made into an investigator as of yet. Arima thought of Kaneki’s wishes, knowing he would be sad if Hide was not with him. The only thing he could do was present the offer to Kaneki and hope to god he would accept. If so, once the test wee complete on Nagachika, the young man would also be made into a First Class investigator, due to his abilities.

Arima signed of the files and other associated paperwork, he folded them and slotted them into the nearest post box inside the HQ. He prepared his coat and briefcase before walking down the extensive hallways of the Main CCG Building to the large multistory carpark. His car was a sleek black Mercedes that he unlocked and stepped into.

The route to Cochlea was around 1 hour but he needed the time to refresh and stick the radio station onto classic. The gentle notes washed over the car and his ears, relaxing him as he drove.

\--

Buildings like the tallest trees the world could offer, but instead they were concrete and plastic and metal and other manmade objects. She was perched on a medium sized building, satellite dishes and electric cables littered the roof, albeit a single hatch in the middle. Graffiti was sketched into the brick walls and on the gravelly floor as she watched the street.

A lone car drove down, black like the night as it reflected the streetlights in wispy and streaked patterns. Her eyesight was sharp as she saw a glimpse of white hair from within. Her mind briefly thought of Kaneki, but she knew he was long gone and now called Sasaki Haise. Either way she decided to get a closer look as the car pulled up at some traffic lights.

She swooped, using her speed and agility to land on streetlights as she flung past the car, noticing the briefcase inside and the evil gaze the man inside set upon her. He had seen her, but she was to quick for him to form any possible attack. She settled back on the rooftop, a smile on her face as she recognised the face of Arima Kishou. She surely had to target him to get Kaneki back right?

“Touka-chan” A deep voice sounded.

“What…” She hissed.

“I do hope you’re not planning something stupid”

She turned to the voice and smiled at the tall, stoic man.

“No... Yomo-san, not at all. Let’s get back to Anteiku?”

\--

A ghoul, it was obvious, and the mask gave away her alias. The rabbit. Arima frowned as he pulled away from the lights, his journey still allocated on Cochlea. He could deal with her another day.

\--

The 2 men had fallen into a soft sleep, entwined in each other’s arms when Arima arrived. He quietly unlocked the door to the cell and entered. He sat in the desk chair, noticing the plate full of food and a crinkled note. It had seemed Arima’s gift didn’t work. The white haired man smiled sadly as he turned and watched the 2 snoring gently.

He pulled out a pen and paper and began to scribble on it.

**“Ken and Nagachika**

**I popped by and found you were both sleeping, I had some good news for you both.**

**Kaneki Ken, you are being given the rank of First Class and you are also the Quinx Mentor.**

**Hideyoshi Nagachika, you are also the Rank of First Class and the joint Quinx Mentor.**

**I hope this news is amazing to you both.**

**I will be coming by tomorrow to discuss it further with you.**

**Arima.”**

He set the note down and left the cell. The lock clicked shut and he walked away.


	15. Fortitude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not writing sooner and more often.  
> I really love this series and I want to keep it going but I have loads of things happening at the moment.  
> Anyways I hope you are all having a lovely summer, unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, in which have a nice Winter, or if you live somewhere where there are no seasonal changes then have a nice day.

“Remember when we woke up and saw that note?” Hide whispered into Kaneki’s ear.

“Yes, of course” Kaneki whispered back, angling his head to look at the blond man. Hide flashed him a smile through the darkness of the bedroom. Kaneki did the same, rolling over to embrace the half ghoul beside him.

“Yeah, it was amazing wasn’t it?” Hide began “Even though I had to do more tests first before I could join you…”

“Well look at us now” Kaneki smiled “Some of the Quinx keep calling me Sassan still… I’m used to it now”

Hide closed his eyes and sighed contently. He pecked a small kiss onto Kaneki’s cheek before sitting up in bed and stretching out. He got up, balancing on one foot to twist an ankle to relieve the tight muscle and joints. He did the same for the other and walked over the blind at the window. Hide rolled it up slowly, letting the morning light filter into the room in grey tones. He looked back at Kaneki who had sat up in bed, his arms holding the back of his head as he watched Hide lovingly.

“Come on, time to get up and do some work” Hide smiled, bending over the bed to Kaneki and placing a strong kiss on his lips. He gripped the loose shirt Kaneki wore and pulled him up to his feet, never breaking the kiss. Kaneki smiled into the kiss before pulling away to gaze into those golden brown eyes. Kaneki’s hand reached up towards the pale blond hair that was once vivid and bright. There were no tangles or dreads in it any more, just smooth, soft hair that Kaneki could run his fingers through.

The sound of stumbling and padding feet could be heard outside the room. The Squad members were beginning to wake up. Kaneki cursed inwardly, he hadn’t made breakfast for them, they wouldn’t be too happy about that.

“Come on, gotta make breakfast” Kaneki said and promptly left the room, leaving Hide standing there with stars in his eyes.

“Morning ‘Neki” Shirazu spoke. The boy found it very weird, his new squad member is Sasaki Haise, but he wasn’t anymore. It was hard to get his small head around the matter, even if Kaneki Ken explained it so many times. Kaneki nodded towards him, entering the kitchen and pulling out pots and pans to start cooking up some eggs and bacon. The smell of cooking food made the man feel nauseous, how Sasaki cooked for these kids every day was beyond him. He smiled to himself, feeling Sasaki’s presence within him.

Next to appear was Mutsuki who sat down clutching a cup of coffee. He was too focused on the black swirling liquid to hear Kaneki’s greeting. Shirazu elbowed the kid and Mutsuki gave a feeble morning. Sleep plagued his eyes in bags and redness. Someone obviously didn’t sleep well.

Hide appeared at the door, smirking at Kaneki as he watched him cook. Kaneki tried to hide his blush as he turned his back on the blond, cracking some eggs into the frying pan. Urie soon appeared, barging past Hide to sit down at the table, and he scoffed at the blond, preferring Kaneki over him. He found it weird that the Quinx had 2 mentors now and one of them was not only Sasaki Haise with a different name.

Once again Saiko didn’t appear until later, favouring sleeping in rather than eating breakfast. But when she did arrive the first thing she requested was to play games with Hide, who happily obliged.

“I thought we were doing work today” Kaneki spoke to the 2 racing in some racing game. Hide waved his hand and Saiko laughed. Kaneki face palmed and went back into the kitchen to finish off washing up.

\--Flashback—

“You are now going to be introduced to your new Mentors” Arima spoke, watching over the 4 Quinx.

“Mentors? As in more than one? I’m confused” Shirazu pondered.

“Oh cool, more people to play games with!” Saiko happily exclaimed.

“I don’t care (They think we are this stupid that we need 2 mentors to keep us under control?)” Urie grumbled.

“Oh neat, I’m sure they will be lovely” Mutsuki smiled.

Arima carried on talking for a few more minutes, essentially prepping them for the arrival of their new mentors. Soon enough, he introduced them.

“This is First Class Hideyoshi Nagachika” Arima spoke and Hide entered the room with a broad smile.

“You guys can call me Hide”

“He is a half ghoul investigator and was once known as Spider” Arima carried on “He has been pardoned of all his wrong doings for the sake of improving the CCG”

“Nice to meet you, Hide” Mutsuki offered his hand for a shake and Hide complied.

“Nice to meet you too… umm?”

“Mutsuki, Tooru”

“Nice to meet you Mutsuki!”

“Next is First Class Kaneki Ken, I shall warn you, he may remind you of someone” Arima gestured to the door as Kaneki entered. The faces of the Quinx squad froze.

“Sassan?” Shirazu spoke.

“Nope, I am Kaneki Ken, not Sasaki Haise” Kaneki said bluntly. There was awkward silence.

“Yes, this is Sasaki Haise” Arima began “It was a fake name given to Kaneki Ken because of his Amnesia, until recently, Kaneki ad regained his memories of who he is, and he is Kaneki Ken. So if you could remember to address him correctly it would be nice” Arima smiled at Kaneki who glanced back.

“I shall give you all some time to mingle” Arima coughed and left the room.

\--End Of Flashback—

There was a rota located on the wall of the living room. It indicated what the squad will be doing today, out of Office work, Investigatory work, Exercise and training, Kagune training, Quinque training and Rest days, today was Kagune training, where the squad will be bundled into the arena to test their Kagune abilities.

The room was large and resembled a dance hall. The floor was lined with bouncy mats to prevent injury and large lights shone down on them like in a football stadium. Storage rooms exited off one side of the room where practise Quinques and RC Guns were kept.

“Right, we need you lot to pair up, you are going to be fighting against each other today” Hide spoke up as the 4 members of the Qunix squad lined up. Shirazu and Mutsuki immeadiatly looked at each other and Urie awkwardly stood there, not happy about being paired with Saiko. She yawned, glancing at the stone faced boy.

“Maman, can I fight with you?” Saiko asked, looking over to Kaneki who was reading through some files. His eyes shot up and he pulled his glasses off before walking over and smiling.

“Of course, that means, Urie, you are with Hide” Kaneki pushed the blond towards Urie who laughed and steadied himself.

“Bring it on” Hide said, unleashing his Ukaku outwards from his back. The first two appendages lunged forward and were placed on the ground, the rest held back, spreading out like spider’s legs. They glowed fiercly as the sharp projections seemed to vibrate in their sockets, ready to be fired at will. Urie scoffed and unleashed his Koukaku. It burst out in sections, much like the layered scales of a dragon as is snaked down his arm. He had to hold it at an angle because the kagune was taller than his own self. He smirked, whipping the blade around to the front of him, pointing it directly at Hide whose Ukaku seemed to twitch in response.

Kaneki watched as Saiko revealed her Kagune, a Rinkaku that bared almost an exact resemblance to his own. It was long, snaking and covered in peeling scales as if flowed around her. The only difference was that her Rinkaku was a dark bluish colour that when it tapered at the ends turned a deadly purple. She was able to produce 3 Rinkaku claws now after lots of practise, her strength still needed working on however, Kaneki made a mental note.

Mutsuki and Shiruzu were already battling it out, their laughter was rupturing around the rest of the group as they repeatedly knocked each other down. An equal match, albeit Shirazu being stronger with his Ukaku against Mutsuki’s Bikaku. Kaneki watched the group fighting brefily before Saiko lunged, a tentacle whizzing past his face at a dangerously close distance. He countered her by bringing out his own Rinkaku claw, swiping it away.

“Hey that’s not fair! You only need one and I need three!” Saiko yelled over the grunts and laughs of the group.

“You need more practise!” Kaneki laughed, dodging as a round of Ukaku bullets came his way from Hide.

“Sorry” Hide called, avoiding a lunge from Urie who grunted.

“I can always bring out more?” Kaneki laughed, his kakugan growing darker as he brought out 3 more Rinkaku claws. Saiko awed and suddnely felt very under pressure.

“Nope, 1 is enough for now!” She screamed, flying towards the mentor with all her strength and only to be found on her ass in the corner of the room. She glanced back and overlooked the mess they were all making. Hide was on the ceiling, using his Ukaku to hold on as Urie gave him the most unimpressed look. Mutsuki had Shirazu pinned onto the ground and Kaneki was stepping closer to her every second. He had put away the other 3 claws, only utilising one for now.

“Come on! Training isn’t over yet!” Kaneki spoke and a claw spun round Saiko, gripping her by the leg and pulling her up.

“H..Hey!”

\--

“I’m so tired please end my life” Saiko mused, her head buried into the pillows on the sofa. Mutsuki giggled, rubbing circles into her back.

“Sas- Kaneki thrashed you good huh?” Mutsuki said as Shirazu plopped down next to them both.

“He’s a lot stronger than what he once was…” Shirazu mumbled. He knew Sasaki Haise was weak, but Kaneki Ken? My god was he strong. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually an SSS rated ghoul and not an SS...

Kaneki and Hide were sat together at the dinner table looking over the notes of today’s training.

“Saiko needs improvement” Kaneki spoke.

“Or you just need to stop going all OP in there” Hide joked “Next time let’s put her with Mutsuki”

“Agreed, Mutsuki has come far in his skills too” Kaneki said, flicking through the pages.

“Urie is very good, but he needs some fine tuning” Hide put in.

“Shirazu also needs to learn how to aim better, his striking skills are fine at close range, but not far away”

“Can we go to bed now?”

“No”

“But...”

“We have work to do” Kaneki looked Hide in the eyes, watching those lovely wooded orbs. He leaned over and placed a small kiss on his lips before winking and then aiming his attention back to the work. Hide blushed and tried to focus but his mind kept wavering back to Kaneki Ken and his delicious mouth.

“God dammit you’ve distracted me now...”

“Good” Kaneki purred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated.  
> Ideas and contribution are also appreciated.


	16. Unlocking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, new plot line, I wonder who this Unknown Ghoul is?

“A new Ghoul has appeared in Tokyo. We haven’t given them a name or determined their gender yet. The only information we know is that they are a Rinkaku and are capable of forming a Kakuja. They also spend a lot of the time around the 20th, 14th and 4th ward, and there have also been sightings in the 1st ward and the 5th ward.” Kaneki read from files that lay across the conference table. Hide held a note pad and carefully wrote down key points of the new investigation the Quinx squad were being assigned.

“This is our new assignment, to track down the unknown ghoul” Kaneki continued, setting down a piece of paper and looking around the conference room at the rest of the squad. Mutsuki was also jotting down notes quickly, he watched Kaneki intently, attempting to remember as much information. Shirazu sat back lazily in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the ceiling. Urie gazed at Shirazu, cursing internally at the boy due to his incompetence. Saiko sat nearest to Kaneki, cluthing a cup of coffee as she looked, dreary eyed at the files her Squad leaders had handed her.

“Any questions?” Kaneki said after a moment of silence from the group.

“Is it going to be just our group? Or?” Mutsuki asked, throwing his hand up for Kaneki to see.

“We should be allying with Suzuya Juuzou’s squad I hope” Kaneki ansered, adding a small smile on the end.

“Are we going to be using Quinques or Kagunes?” Urie droned in a monotone voice.

“Both, but Kagunes more so, you guys still need practise and the best way to learn is in the field” Hide piped in, sitting back in his seat. The whole squad nodded and fell into another silence.

“So anyways, here is the drill- We are going to be researching for the first week, then investigating for the next 2 weeks in the wards I said before, and if we haven’t located our target in that fortnight we shall add a week on until we do. So say after the 2 weeks of investigation we find them then we shall spend a couple days allowing the search team from another faculty to pinpoint the location and form the assault. Then we shall charge and hopefully subdue the target. More dates are to be added” Kaneki continued. “The next meeting is in 2 days, and then we shall begin the assignment, you are now dismissed.”

 

The chateaux was unusually quiet as Kaneki and Hide sat on the sofa in silence. Hide had his head resting in the crook of Kaneki’s neck and their hands were entwined in a mass of fingers. They both sat like that, savouring each other’s company, even if it was in total silence. Kaneki’s thoughts wandered to Cochlea and he thought of Hinami, left alone in there to eat the slurry they call meat. He felt guilty how he managed to get Hide out and not Kaneki… but he couldn’t risk the CCG knowing they were close or he would be taken in for more questioning. Hinami was part of the case where Kureo Mado was killed by the Ghoul known as Rabbit, or Touka, as Kaneki rightfully knew her. He knew Akira would be all over him if she found out he an indirect part of Kureo Mado’s death. That is why he couldn’t save Hinami, yet again.

Thoughts of Amon Koutaru came back as well, ever since they fought during the Anteiku Raid the tall investigator hasn’t been seen, or found, or even given the label dead or alive. Kaneki, once again couldn’t help but think it was his fault he probably killed the man, another life lost. Sometimes he wished he was Sasaki again, with all his memories gone and no worries…

 _“I was constantly worried, you know”_ Sasaki’s voice rung in his head. Kaneki instinctively glanced around the room, looking for the source but to no avail. All he saw was Hide, snuggled up close to him and snoring gently. How long had Kaneki been thinking?

 _“I used to be scared of the voice inside my head, the demon who haunted me and told me to accept him”_ Sasaki continued. _“But then I found out he was loved, and he was kind.”_

“Sorry for what I did before, it was the only I thought you would let me take over, I didn’t mean to scare you…” Kaneki whispered, unknowingly out loud.

 _“I let you take over because of our situation, Kaneki, I am weak, we would’ve been killed if I hadn’t accepted you then.”_ Sasaki spoke. _“Like you said before, both of us cannot exist in one body and one day we will both perish because of this”_

“I will try my hardest to keep you safe, Sasaki” Kaneki reassured. “There has to be a way for us to be together and not perish, I’m sure of it”

 

“Kaneki what the hell are you on about?” Hide mumbled, cracking his eyes open to look at Kaneki. Shock laced his features and his mouth dropped slowly.

“Uh”

“The voices again?” Hide asked, opening his eyes fully.

“Yeah”

“Well I have booked you a meeting with the CCG’s Therapist, so you can get some professional help. As long as they aren’t bad voices, like telling you to kill people?” Hide chattered, his sentence ending in more of a question than a statement. Kaneki could hear the chuckles of Sasaki in his head.

 _“As if I would ask you to kill anyone…I would kill them with my Puns”_ Sasaki giggled. Kaneki cracked a smile at the dorkish laughter.

“What are you smiling at?” Hide asked.

“Oh, uh, he was laughing at what you said” Kaneki confided. Hide looked worried.

 

\--Skip Two Days, the Beginning of the Unknown Ghoul Investigation-

 

“Research is boring, I hate books…” Shirazu grumbled, reading over the case files of ghouls in the allocated wards. He yawned, setting the book down and resting back in his seat. “Is it time for lunch yet?”

“Shirazu! We need this information, we have no idea what this ghoul is like!” Hide chirped, picking the book back up and placing it in his hands. “For all we know it could be a dual-kagune ghoul instead of a single one!”

Shirazu grumbled, opening the book again to read over all the known ghouls that hadn’t been caught yet. Gourmet, Serpent, Rabbit, No Face, Torso, Raven… The list went on as he jotted down all the possible matches to the given description, but even then that description may be wrong. He sighed, his handwriting turning into a scrawl from laziness. Mutsuki trotted over, holding different files and books in his arms.

“Want me to help you?” Mutsuki offered, lightly knocking his arm with a large grin.

“Sure thing, sit your butt down” Shirazu accepted and Mutsuki took the seat next to him. They carried on working together.

 

“It seems like Saiko didn’t turn up, as usual...” Hide mumbled, glancing over the library and file room. There were hundreds of file cabinets stacked high as the ceilings. Each had either key locks or combinations on them to stop any old worker from accessing them. Investigators that were First Class and above could have the keys to them. Even then, the most important files and top secret data were locked away in a room that even Hide or Kaneki didn’t know the location too – Only Special Class were allowed access to them and even then it was only in times of need for information.

“Nope, not again, she’s been having sleeping issues recently…” Kaneki answered, flicking through a file on the Ghoul known as the Gourmet, Tsukiyama Shuu. Kaneki hadn’t seen that face in a while.

“You mean she stays up all night playing video games to the point that she has reverse her body clock and become nocturnal?” Hide laughed.

“Yeah, that” Kaneki giggled.

Hide read over the Rabbit’s file, Touka, his lovely Touka that he tried to hit on all those years ago. Wow, it had been such a long time, Hide thought. The Squad, minus Saiko, carried on their work throughout the days of the week until they were ready to delve into the streets of Tokyo to track down this unknown ghoul. Kaneki had a sick feeling in his stomach, what if it is someone he knows? What will he do then?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh the tension.  
> Who is it?  
> Can you guess?


	17. :Reunite

**-Anteiku – The :RE Coffee Shop in the 1 st ward-**

It was a quiet day today, aside from the hissing of coffee machines and the pouring of water. The clinking of cups sounded from the small kitchen where Touka stood washing them. She wiped a mug over, studying its intricate patterns of red and gold. She set it down carefully, her thoughts flowing back to the old coffee shop in the 20th ward. She remembered Yoshimura’s favourite set of cups, each unique in their set of 8, but all complimenting one another with their style. Unfortunately they were all destroyed when Anteiku had been destroyed. The day Kaneki went missing. But Kaneki wasn’t the only one who had gone… Hide, who was a regular at Anteiku in the 6 months Kaneki spent with Banjou, had also gone missing. Nishiki had left, choosing to survive over his friends and his girlfriend, Kimi. So many loved people gone… even if shitty Nishiki was on the list. She stopped staring at the mug to carry on with the others. Luckily she had found a set in a charity shop that were extremely similar. However, they didn’t give her the same safe, homely feeling the ones Yoshimura loved.

Sasaki Haise is what he called himself when he entered the shop with what appeared to be his squad of unusual youngsters. Touka, dumfounded that this man looked, acted and sounded the same way as Kaneki, had to hide her surprise, sadness and anger from him in fear that she could lose him forever. The tall suited man even ordered the same coffee brew that Kaneki enjoyed, it was unbelievable. He was still alive, after all the shit they had gone through with the Anteiku raid. In the moment she wanted to ask if it was really him, but she didn’t. If only she had.

Today was sunny, but it held a cold wind. The sky, plastered in small clouds held the promise of more sunny days to come. A lovely and quiet day, she thought, just what she needed. Well she mentally through that thought out the window when a gang of loud talking people walked through the door with a chime. She stopped cleaning and quickly dried her hands, she patted down her apron and walked out to the counter with a smile on her face.

“Hello! Welcome to :RE, I am Touka and I will be serving you-“ She chimed, but abruptly stopped when she was met with cold grey eyes. “Ehem, What would you like to order?” She carried on, trying not to sound awkward.

“The usual” Kaneki said and winked. Touka’s eyes widened for a moment.

“You aren’t a regular, so I wouldn’t know your ‘usual’” She played on. She stole a glance at the rest of the group, it was all the same kids from before, plus one. He was taller and laughing along with the smaller blue-haired one. He looked up and met her eyes with a smile and a wave.

“Hide…” She breathed and glanced back to Sasaki with disbelief in her features.

“Yes, that’s Hideyoshi Nagachika, my best friend from since I was little” Kaneki smiled, waiting for Touka to realise.

“Kaneki?” She whispered and Kaneki answered with a nod. Her mouth dropped open.

“I thought you… I thought you were Sasaki? What, I am so confused”

“I lost my memories, the CCG gave me a fake name and tried to keep my past from me, but then I remembered, I am Kaneki Ken, I am a Half-Ghoul, slightly mentally unstable, I love books and I used to eat at Big Girl” Kaneki droned. Touka’s face changed from confused to fierce.

“If you really are Kaneki Ken then who am I?” Touka asked, eyeing up the man before her.

“You are Touka Kirishima, you have a brother called Ayato and when you first met me as a newly created Ghoul you told me I didn’t belong to the Human world or the Ghoul world and shoved meat down my throat” Kaneki smiled.

“Fine” Touka said, crossing her arms “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HAVE WORRIED STUPID KANEKI”

The entire Quinx squad looked up towards the raised voice and Hide burst into laughter.

“Ye-“

Kaneki was met with a slap around the face.

“Ow”

Then suddenly she was hugging him over the counter, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Hey, hey it’s okay, I’m here now” Kaneki whispered into her ear.

“I missed you so much” Touka sobbed.

There was awkward silence.

“Wait she shoved meat down your throat?” Mutsuki asked after the period of silence became less awkward. Kaneki let go of Touka and went to answer but realised his mistake. He had just indirectly told the Quinx squad that the :RE coffee shop was run by a ghoul.

“Uh, yeah, she’s a friend from school, I told her about my issue with not being able to eat human food, so she went out and found a suicide victim and force fed me…” Kaneki lied and Hide had to stifle a laugh. Even though Hide wasn’t there at that particular time, Kaneki had told him all about it, countless times. The Quinx squad all went ‘ohhh’ and dismissed the situation. Hide got up and walked over to Kaneki and Touka. He linked his fingers in Kaneki’s and clutched his hand to give it a squeeze.

“Oh yeah, me and Hide are dating again” Kaneki spurted in a rushed tone. Hide laughed and Touka smiled at the two. She knew about their previous relationship, before the CCG had taken Kaneki and even way before that to the time when Kaneki was a mere human drinking coffee at Anteiku. She remembered the date Kaneki and Rize went on. Hide had dared Kaneki to see if he could land himself a girlfriend, lo and behold, it worked, but only with a slight issue. 

“That’s nice to hear” She said, beginning to make up 2 cups of coffee for the two. “So Hide, where did you go?” She asked.

“Oh I was kidnapped by Aogiri and turned into a Half Ghoul” Hide stated, Touka looked shocked.

“What!?”

“Yeah I know, bit of a terrible story, haha, but now I’m working for the CCG. First Class Investigator bitch” Hide scratched the back of his head. “I have an Ukaku!”

“Oh wow, as long as you are okay?” Touka questioned.

“Oh yeah I’m fine, as long as I’m with him” He nudged Kaneki “I’m always okay”

“Stop being soppy, it’s gross” Kaneki grumbled, taking the filled, steaming coffee mug Touka had finished making. She was just finishing up the next one.

“Oh you love it really” Hide laughed, placing a kiss on his cheek. Kaneki rolled his eyes.

“Would you like to join us?” Kaneki offered, gesturing to the table where the rest of the squad sat.

“Sure thing!”

 

**-The CCG's main office branch in the 1st ward-**

“Sir we have had new sighting on this Unknown Ghoul”

“Go on”

“Male, quite tall, wears a cloak and he has been spotted with what appears to be a Koukaku and a Rinkaku”

“Dual wielding hmm”

“We will let the Q Squad know soon. They are having a break at the moment”

“Okay, thank you for this information”

Arima sat back in his chair as Marude left the room. Male, tall, wearing a cloak… hmmm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made the most amazing pun in the title of this chapter. Sasaki would be proud.  
> And wow, more information on the Unknown ghoul...


	18. Preparation

It was late and the Chateaux was finally bedding down for the night. The Q squad were in the rooms, aside from Urie was watching a recorded program on the TV in the lounge. Saiko’s video games could be heard from her room, as well as the cries of her failures at battling a boss on a thriller, fantasy game. Mutsuki had possibly fallen asleep, or was reading books as silence stemmed from his room and Shirazu, well, snoring erupted from behind the door of his bedroom.

Hide and Kaneki were sat at the kitchen table, reading over the reports of today’s researching. They had gained a lot of information on the ghouls who came from the wards listed. Somehow, even though they knew little, they were at an advantage. Tomorrow the Squad will be initiating the actual field work of investigating the wards to spot anything unusual or matching the criteria. Kaneki was sure Shirazu would enjoy it, seeing as the blond Quinx was more of a practical worker then a researcher.

“Ken” Hide yawned, covering his mouth with a fist. He looked at Kaneki with reddened eyes. “I think it’s time to call it a day”

“Agreed” Kaneki answered, sliding the paperwork into their allocated files and hooking them under his arm. He stood up, putting his hand out for Hide take as he stood as well. The low lights of the kitchen, bathing the room in a pale glow that mimicked moonlight, reflected in Kaneki’s hair perfectly. The shadows and light contoured his face, catching his jawline and swarming his eyes. Hide stared into those grey orbs, half lidded, a slight tinge of black from lack of sleep hung on his lower eyelids.

“Anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?” Hide whispered, his voice breathy. He leaned in slowly, never letting his eyes leave the others. Kaneki smiled a half-smile.

“I could say the same about you” Kaneki mused, retracting his hand from Hide’s to cup the pale-blonds cheek. Kaneki pulled him in, their lips meeting in a soft caress. It was calm, sweet with no ferocity or fire. But still, it ignited their lips and made them tingle.

“Get a room” A voice hissed from the lounge and they both broke apart, blush tinting their cheeks. Urie was looking over the sofa, his violet eyes staring with no emotion.

“Oh, um” Hide fumbled over his words.

“We shall” Kaneki winked at Urie and the young teen scoffed and went back to watching his show.

“That was awkward…” Hide whispered, too quiet for Urie to hear. “Come on, let’s go” Hide took Kaneki’s hand and lead him towards the staircase where there was a tremendous knock.

“Oh come on…” Hide sighed, walking over to open it. Kaneki tried to stop giggling.

“Hello First Class Kaneki Ken and Hideyoshi Nagachika, I have some good news” Marude smiled from outside the front door, holding out a case file towards the two investigators. The sky was inky black and cloudy, no stars tonight Kaneki thought.

“Hello Marude-San!” Hide chimed as Kaneki took the file and gave a bow to say thank you.

“Good evening, Marude” Kaneki smiled, tucking the file under his arm to bow before the man. “So what is this good news?” It was too late for this.

“Oh yes, another sighting on the Unknown Ghoul, this time more definite information!” He answered, placing his hands on his hips, watching as Kaneki opened the file. It contained a small description of the Ghoul as well as a picture, albeit slightly blurred but it showed the ghoul with is Kagune out. Urie appeared in the background, listening to the others.

“Male and a dual wielder huh?” Kaneki mused, shuffling through the papers to study the photo more “Nice, the only dual wielding ghouls we have known of was Nutcracker and the Daughter Ghoul” Kaneki carried on, thinking of Hinami, locked away in Cochlea. It hurt.

“Exactly, this is why you should be thinking about trying to capture this ghoul” Marude continued, Kaneki and Hide nodded at the same time, unaware of each other’s synchronization. “He has been seen tailing Aogiri. Although we have no idea he may be affiliated with Aogiri Tree, he must at least have some information”

“Okay, I will write up a report later and tomorrow our Squad will hold a meeting to talk about the news.” Kaneki spoke, placing the information back inside the file case. He made a mental note to lock it in the safe tonight. The safe was located in his bedroom, locked with keys and combinations that only Kaneki and Hide knew the codes too.

“Brilliant, it’s great to see an investigation underway and running smoothly. I shall leave you all too it then” Marude smiled, taking his leave.

“Good bye!” Hide and Kaneki chimed at the same time, both waving as Marude left the house, shutting the door behind him.

“Where were we?” Kaneki purred as he swooped Hide up bridal style and took him to the bedroom. Urie scowled, it was going to be a loud night.

\--The next day, 8:05am—

The kitchen bustled with activity as Kaneki danced from drawer to cupboard to oven to microwave. Seeing as it was the official start of the Q Squads field-work, he decided to make them a full fry-up. Eggs, smells like rotten flesh, but Mutsuki loves them. Bacon, Kaneki swears he can remember what it tastes like, Hide knows he can… but Urie enjoys a nice bacon sandwich. French toast, Saiko’s favourite but the scent was that of oil from a petrol station. Once again, gross. Fried tomato, you wouldn’t think Shirazu liked fruits of veggies but when it came to a fry-up it was the tomatoes that did it for him.

“Hey Sassan, you used to be Human right? Can you remember what human food tastes like?” Shirazu spoke with a mouthful of beans. Kaneki set down his spatula and leant on the counter.

“Uh, not really, and its Kaneki now, okay, remember that” Kaneki laughed, turning back to his work and began to pile it all up at the sink.

“Oh sorry, uh, Kaneki-san, Kanesan, Kannsan… I have no idea where I’m going with this” Shirazu grumbled and shoved a mouthful of egg into his mouth. Mutsuki burst out laughing at Shirazu’s disappointed looking face. Saiko snorted and carried on playing her PSP. Urie scoffed, finishing his bacon sandwich.

“They can only eat humans remember” He deadpanned, standing up and leaving the room. Kaneki stopped what he was doing, it wasn’t like he had a choice.

\--Flashback, Dr. Shiba’s Office--

“So you have issues with food?” Shiba asked.

“Uh, yeah, I can’t… eat… even if I’m starving hungry… and even if it is fake meat”

“You are showing signs of an Eating Disorder, which is fascinating on my part because we never knew Ghouls could get such a disorder seeing as their survival is solely based on eat or be eaten”

“Oh, okay” Kaneki looked to the floor, he twiddled his thumbs.

“Hmm, well how about I propose something to you?”

“Yeah, that sounds good” Kaneki scratched his chin.

“Injections of RC cells, taken directly into the blood stream near and around the kakuhou. It supplies your body with nutrients and RC cells, the exact sort you find in meat”

Kaneki nodded.

“So we shall start you on these, come to me if you run out” Shiba presented Kaneki with a black case. Inside was enough needles for 6 months.

“Thank you so much” Kaneki studied the box.

“And if you have any other issues, you can come to me as well” Shiba smiled softly before dismissing Kaneki.

\--End Flashback--

“Technically what the CCG feeds me and Hide is this lab created meat, which is made from human DNA but it actually isn’t real human meat” Kaneki had lied the group. Yes Hide ate the meat, but Kaneki didn’t, he still had his injections, and they helped greatly. They all listened, finding it interesting when Kaneki talked about anything to do with being a ghoul.

“So I just walked past Urie and he looked mega pissed” Hide spoke, wandering in the kitchen. The look of sleep on his face indicated he had only just woken up.

“Yeah… anyways, you need to get ready, we are going to the CCG main building at 9am!”

\--CCG HQ—

The meeting room was huge, a lot bigger than the one at the Chateaux. The round table was large enough to hold about 20 people, but only 9 had arrived. The Q Squad, Arima Kishou, Akira Mado and Marude Itsuki. They were all here to discuss the new information on the Unknown Ghoul.

“More sightings in the 20th ward” Arima read out from the papers. “Dual-wielding, tall, cloak wearing and somehow affiliated with Aogiri.”

“Our Squad will check out the 20th ward, we will report to you if we see anything” Hide spoke out.

“If he happens to be part of Aogiri we will need the Owl-Suppression squad ready” Marude informed. Arima nodded and Akira scratched something down in her notepad.

“Exactly, we will need to watch out for Tatara, Seidou and Eto, the owl” Kaneki interjected, this time he wouldn’t be kidnapped by them. He had been tortured by Aogiri twice, the 1st time when he was dubbed as Yamori’s plaything and the Second time because Eto wanted Kaneki back and to turn him into an Aogiri slave, like Seidou. Well she got what she wanted, apart from the slave bit.

“Wait this makes sense, if he has been seen repeatedly around the 20th ward, which just so happens to be where the Aogiri hideout is then they have to be linked somehow” Hide pondered to himself, tapping his chin. After a long discussion and preparation for another Aogiri raid, the Q Squad were set free to wander the 20th ward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and ideas are welcome.  
> Thank you for reading if you have gotten this far haha.  
> The next chapter is where everything begins to fall into place.


	19. Chrysanthemum

Kaneki felt like all his memories of his childhood had flooded back when he set foot in the 20th ward. It was still peaceful, quiet and quaint. However, it was a lot smaller since the raid on Aogiri tree back 3 years ago because half the ward was destroyed. Nothing but rubble and soot. 20ft tall fences blocked the zone off from the rest of the ward, allowing only investigators in to see the destruction. There were budget cuts and lots of law cases against the CCG that stopped it from being restored and from then onwards it is nothing but a restricted zone. Inside hid the rubble of Anteiku, the old coffee shop that Kaneki and Hide enjoyed coffee together. Half of Kanou General Hospital had been destroyed too, but since then the untouched half has been fixed up, now living up to the name Nerima General Hospital, named after the Ward and because Kanou, the owner who corrupted Kaneki’s and Hide’s life, had taken an absence.

Kamii University stood tall and strong, untouched by the remains of battle. This was because it was luckily on the other side of the ward, near Kaneki’s old apartment. The Q Squad walked past it. An old main building made from stone and carved into different intricate patterns. The rest was blocks that had been built to accommodate more students and subjects. The great Library and the Literature block was set inside the ancient building. Kaneki had always loved how the inside was garnished with dark, ebony wood and carvings of lions and flowers.

“So this is Kamii, huh?” Hide spoke, nudging Kaneki who had spaced out.

“Oh yeah, it’s changed a lot, hasn’t it?” Kaneki answered in a quiet voice.

“Yeah” Hide sighed before walking away with the rest of the group.

The streets were quiet because not many people live here anymore. It was deemed one of the safest wards in Tokyo, but since the Raid it had its title revoked to ‘Safe but watch your back’. Either way the market place, located a few blocks away from the University, was full of people buying goods such as fruit, clothes and accessories.

“It’s a lovely day isn’t it?” Mutsuki chimed, looking at a stall of flowers. Yes, today was very calm. A lovely blue sky and the sun was strong enough to warm your skin. There was also not a cloud in sight.

“It is” Kaneki smiled, he too was checking out the flowers. He could name them one by one: Red Roses, _Akaibara_ and White Roses, _Shiroibara_. Carnations, _Kaneshon_ and Amaryllis, _Amaririsu_. Yellow Roses, _Kiiroibara_ and Red Tulips, _Akaichurippu_. He had to hand it Tsukiyama for teaching him all about flowers in the time he spent with Shuu, Banjou and Hinami as it was a really nice set of information he remembered.

 _“Wow, who knew you liked flowers so much?”_ Sasaki whispered _“What’s those little ones called? The ones in pink and purple?”_ Sasaki seemed to appear out from nowhere, he was stood beside Mutsuki who was busy sniffing the roses. He was wearing his striped suit and black tie. His grey eyes wide and his hair unkempt. He pointed to the small flowers lined in pots at the front of the stand.

“Oh, those are Sweet Peas, _Suitopi_!” Kaneki smiled, looking at the small delicate flowers. “They mean goodbye”

 _“Goodbye, huh…”_ Sasaki murmured before dissipating as Mustuki stepped forward through the vision.

“You talking to me?” Mutsuki asked and Kaneki nodded sharply, realising he was talking out loud, again.

The squad carried on through the 20th ward, looking for any suspicious activities. They were about to call it day when Urie caught glimpse of a cloaked man walking through a dark alleyway. Lo and behold the squad followed the mysterious person and he led them to the restricted part of the ward. As the Squad hid behind a few dumpsters they watched at the man sprouted what appeared to be blue, dragon-like wings coming from just below the shoulder blades. From his lower back sprouted two scaled tentacles that matched the light blue colour. Instead of tapering at the end they held spikes, much like that of a Stegosaurus’s tail. He jumped and practically flew over the fence and disappeared into the mess of buildings on the other side.

“We have to follow him” Kaneki spoke, Hide nodded and the rest of the squad mentally began to prepare themselves.

“I will call Arima and get him to come with the Owl-Suppression squad” Hide told Kaneki and pulled out his Investigator ‘CCG Issued’ phone. As Hide explained the situation, Kaneki gave the Squad a small pep talk.

“Right, it appears we have located our man” He began “We are going to need to detain him, however he has gone into the restricted part of the 20th ward. It is where ghouls thrive without the CCG being on their heels all the time. It is also the location of the Aogiri hideout” He paused, letting the information sink in. Hide was finished on the phone and came back to the group. “For this we are using out Kagunes, Arima is going to bring our Quinques in case anything bad happens”

“We have been given to go ahead, Arima is on his way” Hide spoke.

“Let’s go”

 

\--

“This place is scary” Saiko whispered to Mutsuki. The group had split in an attempt to locate the Ghoul and it was getting very dark. There was no electricity above ground here, it was bathed in a darkness that made even the sharpest of ghouls blind to attack.

“Tell me about it...” Mutsuki whispered back, unleashing his Kagune. A Bikaku, long and slender with large hooks on the end. Saiko did the same, unleashing her toned Rinkaku.

“Scary!” Screeched a voice from one of the buildings. “This isn’t scary, I’ll tell you what’s scary!” The voice seemed agitated and pained. It echoed from around the buildings making it hard for the two Quinx’s to locate the sound.

Suddenly Saiko was pushed backwards and was met with a wall. She had the air knocked out of her and she struggled to breath. She could feel her bones knitting themselves back together from where she impacted the brick wall. Mutsuki, on the other hand, had been pushed down the street, he had to use his hooked Kagune to stop his momentum.

A black figure landed between the two, his cloak fanning out around him as he turned his head towards Saiko. Stark white hair and a crazed smile. But the only thing that held Saiko there was his eyes. One Kakugan, a half ghoul.

“ME!”

\--

Kaneki and Urie partnered up and they were exploring closer to Anteiku that the other couples. The sky was clear and the stars shone down on them. The moon, barely in its half form, provided even more light that aided the Half Ghoul and Quinx. Kaneki rubbed his eyes, cursing internally for his bad vision… no wonder why Sasaki wore glasses more often. He placed the reason of this on Arima, when the Reaper stabbed his eyes out. Part of Kaneki wouldn’t ever forgive him for that, but still, Arima got them back into the CCG with good pay and protection so Kaneki could put the ‘eyes stabbed out’ issue away for now.  Urie knew Kaneki was at a disadvantage here and he smiled internally. He could prove himself to Kaneki and the CCG and possibly get a promotion.

“There’s Anteiku” Urie whispered, looking forward into the rubble and remains of the coffee shop.

“Keep an eye out for Ghouls” Kaneki whispered back, surveying the area. No sign of anything. It seemed too quiet for his liking. “Especially Eto”

Urie nodded, advancing forward into the destroyed building. Charred remains of tables and chairs. Broken coffee machines and smashed mugs and jars. It hurt Kaneki to see this.

“Hello” A voice hissed from behind what looked like the counter. It was male, strong and deep. But Kaneki recognised it.

“Ayato” Kaneki grunted and the male revealed himself. Not a young boy anymore, older, his features pronounced and his voice deep from puberty. He still had the same grin from before however.

“That’s it!” He laughed, sliding over the countertop with ease. He stood tall, taller than Kaneki and he still had a few inches to grow. His hair was tamed, straighter and a little bit shorter than before. He was wearing a tank top and black jeans and he still donned his purple scarf.

“So how’s life?” He asked, sweeping his hair up into a small ponytail. His evil grin never left his face.

“This is not the time for mutual conversation” Urie hissed.

“Oh I’m sorry!” Ayato laughed “It’s just I haven’t seen Kaneki in so long!”

“Ayato, stop” Kaneki warned “I have a question”

“Oh go ahead” Ayato smiled, ignoring Urie’s scoff.

“A Ghoul, male, wearing a cloak and he has two Kagunes. Is he here?”

“Oh him… probably, he’s a pain in the ass to Aogiri, we are trying to catch him as well”

“Oh so he isn’t part of your organisation?”

“Nope”

Silence and a stare down between the three males.

“Hey Ken”

“Yes?”

“You got Hinami, don’t yah, in Cochlea?”

“That’s classified information Kirishima”

“So I’m going to have to beat it out of you?” Ayato grunted, launching himself at Kaneki. He was met with Urie’s Koukaku, right in the face, sending him backwards over the countertop.

“YOU BITCH”

\--

Hide’s phone was ringing, a piercing sound in the quiet that he and Shirazu sat in. At first Hide didn’t notice it, he was too busy in thought, thinking about Kaneki and if he was okay. Part of him knew he wasn’t and it worried him terribly. But nevertheless the ringing slowly broke down the barriers of his thought and he answered in a hurry.

“Hello, Hideyoshi here”

“The Owl-Suppression Squad has arrived, let us know of further information so we can advance” A soldier spoke from the other line. Hide didn’t know the voice.

“Okay thank you” Hide finished and hanged up. He glanced towards Shirazu who sat staring at a wall.

They had found themselves a nice alleyway to camp out in, waiting for any sign of a ghoul. It was quiet, dark and downright eerie. The only noises were their irritated breathing and shuffling of feet. That was before there was a piercing scream that echoed into their eardrums. Shirazu stood bolt upright, listened for where it came from. Another, long and shrill, then low and pained.

“Mutsuki” Shirazu whispered “We gotta go”

They ran towards the sounds, finding out it wasn’t just screams but the thudding of bodies and the snapping of bones. They turned a corner and saw the scene. Mutsuki lay face down, his arm bent around his body in an awkward position, indicating it was broken. He was groaning in pain, waiting for the regeneration to kick in. Saiko was hunched up against a wall, a black figure was behind her, and it had a long Kagune, much like Urie’s but it came from above the Shoulder blade showing it was an Ukaku.

“STOP” Shirazu screamed, unleashing his own Ukaku, orange like the colour of his hair. Hide followed, his Kagune was also appearing behind him, another Ukaku.

“Oh! More people to hurt!” The voice laughed, turning around to face the investigators. “Oh hey Golden Boy!” The figure waved and Hide and laughed.

“Seidou, stop” Hide warned, bringing his Ukaku up and over him. He raised the first 2 tendrils, like how a spider when threatened does. His golden Kakugan glowed with fire as Seidou stared him down. Shirazu ran towards Mutsuki and held him softly, whispering into his ear. He pulled the broken arm out and away from his back and set it out in its proper position, mentioned something about ‘it will heal better now’.

Hide and Seidou engaged in combat, both using Kagunes. Hide launched forward, using his Ukaku to peirce Seidou in 8 different places. He held him in the air, Seidou struggling as Hide sent a shot of sharp hair-like Ukaku bullets directly into Seidou. The man groaned and did the same, landing a round of his own shards directly into Hide’s body. One went into his eye, his human eye luckily but still it hurt badly. Hide dropped Seidou and recoiled from the pain. Shirazu came in from behind, sending his own Ukaku bullets directly into Seidou. After that round, however, Shirazu was panting, using his Ukaku drained his stamina, more so than a regular user. This was because he was still learning how to fight. Hide was fine, albeit feeling a bit fatigued, he knew he would run out of stamina soon but Seidou, he seemed to never run out.

Saiko stood up shakily from behind Seidou, her Rinkaku coiling behind her as she launched forwards and pierced him from the back, holding him there, unable to move. Hide and Shirazu sent another round of bullets directly into their opponent.

“NO” Seidou screeched, thrashing against the restraints. He started to convulse and breathe heavily. “I will…. I will get you for this…” His voice became distorted as his Kakujya formed over his face. “Mother! I am so sorry! But…. But you tasted so good!!!”

“RETREAT” Hide called and retreated backwards with Saiko and Shirazu. They picked up Mutsuki and placed him behind a set of dumpsters, away from the battle field, his arm was almost fixed now. But an unknown head injury seemed to keep him from gaining consciousness.

Seidou arched forward, the sound of bones breaking and healing, his skin ripped and blood leaked onto the floor as his Kakujya pierced his skin. He kept laughing, the mask covering only half of his face, his Kakugan glowing with ferocity. Hide picked up his phone slowly and alerted the CCG for more backup.

This was going to be a long fight.

\--

Ayato seemingly danced around the room, he was so skilled and fast. Kaneki could barely land a hit on him, nor could Urie, considering his Koukaku was heavy to lift quickly enough, he did have an advantage when Ayato landed hits with his shard bullets though as the Koukaku was good for defence. Kaneki on the other hand, primarily using his Kagune for attack and not defence, kept getting pierced with the shards and he bled profusely. However, his high regenerative abilities kept him from being killed.

“He will get tired soon” Kaneki spoke to Urie who nodded. All they would need to do is wait. And soon enough Ayato’s attacks became sloppy and slow, giving the Investigators enough time to begin to land attacks on him. Kaneki wrapped a claw around his body and brought him to the ground, holding him there while another tentacle pierced his stomach. Urie used his heavy Kagune to break his legs, knowing the regen of an Ukaku user was slow, he wouldn’t be moving for any time soon.

“Well that-“

“You fucking bitch, I fucking hate you” Ayato hissed, writhing on the floor.

“-Was easy” Kaneki finished. He knew not to kill Ayato, because he was Touka-chans brother. However, if Ayato didn’t crawl out of here soon enough then he would be killed by the incoming CCG forces. But that wouldn’t be Kaneki’s problem.

“Are we not going to finish him?” Urie asked, breathing heavily.

“No, let him suffer” Kaneki hissed, his Kakugan dark and angry.

“You… bitch” Ayato whispered, his strength gone.

“We need to regroup, come on, let’s find the others” Kaneki spoke, walking away from Ayato’s messy body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I love Flower Language. (花言葉 - Hanakotoba)  
> Here are the meanings of the flowers I used.
> 
>  
> 
> White Chrysanthemum (Shiragiku, 白菊) - Meaning Truth or Grief.   
> Red Rose (Akaibara, 赤い薔薇) - Meaning Romance.  
> Carnation (Kaneshon, カーネーション) - Meaning Love and Fascination.   
> Yellow Carnation ( Kiiro no kānēshon, 黄色のカーネーション) - Meaning Rejection or Disappointment.  
> Amaryllis (Amaririsu, アマリリス) - Meaning Shy.  
> White Rose (Shiroibara, 白い薔薇) - Meaning Innocence, Devotion and Silence.  
> Yellow Rose (Kiiroibara, 黄色い薔薇) - Meaning Jealousy.  
> Red Tulip (Akaichurippu, 赤いチューリップ) - Meaning Fame.  
> Sweet Pea (Suitopi, スイートピー) - Meaning Goodbye.


	20. Oxidation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Chapter sorry.

“I wonder which of you tastes the best.” His voice crazed yet somehow comforting and the way his mask cradled his face lead Hide to see some kind of beauty within him, the beauty of what pain and terror does to you. The next thing Hide sees is blood, lots of it, oozing from his abdomen where Seidou had pinned him. The Kagune had ruptured through the walls of his internal organs, yet narrowly missed his spinal cord as the large dagger-like Ukaku interlocked with the grimy brick wall behind him. Hide felt like his entire being was burning in a fuelled fire, and his hunger peaked, so hungry for flesh. His nerve endings were alight with electricity as he thrashed against the grip, but he felt like he was in slow motion, and his vision was like strobe lights, there was a screaming coming from behind the half ghoul. High and shrill, it hurt his ears.

Another Ghoul, tall with pale blond hair stood before one of the Quinx. A red iron mask donned his face, covering his mouth. Hide couldn’t see his face, but he knew it was Tatara. That signature white robe gave it away as well as the interlocking metal mask. He was stood over what appeared to be Shirazu, his foot placed firmly on Shirazu’s chest in the area of the diaphragm, causing the inability to inhale. To put it straight, Tatara was suffocating Shirazu.

“Get off” Hide grunted, baring his teeth and latching his golden eye onto Seidou who laughed pitifully. He made a futile attempt to struggle and save his subordinate. All the while hoping the backup will arrive and that Kaneki was safe.

“I think I will taste you first” He decided, he free hand reaching into the mess that the Ukaku blade had caused to his body. He pulled away a lump of muscle, dripping with blood and promptly placed it into his mouth. He chewed, savouring the flavour until his face contorted in pain.

“Oh god, you taste nasty!” Seidou groaned, spitting out what was left of his mouthful. His Ukaku began to falter and dissipate, leaving the enormous hole in Hide. It seemed to crack and split, becoming large and then small. Bits flaked off and other parts spurted with blood. The Kakujya mask seemed to drip away from his face tearing the skin along with it.

“What the fuck!” Seidou hissed, shaking with pain. More of his Ukaku came apart in chunks, revealing parts of his skeleton along with it. He shrieked in pain, dancing around to get a better look at the damage. When he looked back up, half of his face was gone, the skin was torn away exposing ligaments and muscle, his teeth, which were blood soaked seemed to glint from what little light there was. They weren’t hidden by his lips, no, in fact, half of his top lip had ripped away as well.

“What the fuck are you made of?” Seidou growled, falling to the ground from weakness and pain. Hide watched solemnly, remembering Seidou from the time he had worked at the CCG as an office assistant. Young, happy, somewhat suffering from an inferiority complex, but still hardworking and competitive. Whatever Aogiri Tree did to the young man must’ve been seriously sick.

Hide gritted his teeth, feeling his slow but powerful regeneration starting to kick in. “I’m not the standard breed of ghoul remember, I must taste differently” He totally did taste differently as far as he could tell. But to the point of cancelling out a Kakujya? Well then, this must be something good to use against the One-Eyed Owl.

“Nagachika!” Called Koori Ui, the Special Class Investigator from Squad 0. He was running towards the young man with all his might, his quinque in his hand, Taruhi, the long and slender Halberd-like weapon. Hide blinked away the daze from his eyes, all this blood loss was making him feel sick and hungry, and he needed to eat, now.

“Ui… food… meat” Hide whispered, he could barely keep his eyes open now as he slumped to the ground. His regeneration was slowing down, almost to a halt. He was so close… so close to tasting the blood of his friends on his tongue. So close to ripping out their throats and feeling their pulse slow down to nothing and their breathing to cease. Oh how much he could simply bite down into the soft flesh of Koori Ui’s neck.

He found himself salivating, staring straight the thin skin that hid the jugular artery. Ui took a step backwards, one hand out towards Hide and the other reaching for his back pocket where his Suppressant gun was hidden. If he needed he would put down Hide without a thought using the sedatives. Soon enough another Squad 0 member arrived, holding a package of something that smelt delicious. Not fake, lab-produced, synthetic meat. The real deal in all its dripping glory. Hide snatched it away, hissing as he did so and teared into the package and swallowing the lot in one go. Real flesh tasted so much better he thought, letting the iron blood rest on his tongue for a few more seconds.

“Hide?”

Arima had appeared also, it seemed Tatara had fled with Seidou, but Hide couldn’t recall that much since his hunger had taken over his thought processes. A hand was placed on his back and Hide turned, revealing the glowing Kakugan and blood stained lips.

“Yes, Arima-San?” Hide had to blink a few times. It was as if Arima Kishou was being shone down on… but it was only the makeshift fog lights the CCG response units had set up.

“How are you feeling?” Arima’s voice was fatherly as he handed Hide a tissue to wipe the blood away.

“Much better, thank you, Arima”

“No Problem”

\--

It was safe to say that Kaneki and Urie had gotten themselves lost. Yep, lost. Even though Kaneki lived here in the past, he still couldn’t form a route back to the others. Maybe it was because of the destroyed buildings and blocked roads or the eternal darkness and the downright depressing atmosphere of Urie Kuki who trudged behind him.

“I seriously wanted to kill him” Urie muttered. Ayato, crippled on the floor with broken bones yet again. It seemed every-goddamn-time Kaneki met that young asshole he broke his bones.

“Well he’s probably dead now anyways” Kaneki retorted, knowing he wasn’t and probably planning Kaneki’s death as we speak. Urie simply pulled a face and walked ahead of Kaneki who hung back. He still hadn’t retracted his Kagune, letting it swish around behind him like multiple tails. He was alert for any attack from Aogiri. It was their land after all.

\--

Juuzou and his Squad had also joined the gang, just like the Operation file had stated. He was dressed in his usual weird, yet wonderful, attire and was dancing around on the bonnet of one of the jeeps. The rest of his squad stood like statues with faces like vultures watching around them, awaiting command.

The three Q squad members and Hide had been gathered up and allowed to rest for a short while. Hide was almost fully regenerated when a call chimed in on his phone. The ID said Kaneki Ken so obviously Hide answered it.

“Ken” Hide spoke.

**“Hide, are you okay, anything happen?”**

“Oh you know, Seidou and Tatara is all, I still have a gaping hole in my stomach from Seidou, pretty much all healed now. So how is your evening going?”

 **“WHAT?! No, I’m gunna kill that bastard”** Hide could hear Urie sighing in the background **“Anyways, met up with Ayato and he gave us some information on the Unknown Ghoul”**

“Ayato? And sweet, tell me more sugar”

**“You know who he is! And yeah he’s not part-“**

The line went dead.

The blood drained from Hide’s face and his eyes widened in fear.

“Hello? Kaneki? Hello?!”

No response.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are welcome, I will try my hardest to respond.  
> Also feel free to give me AU's and Ideas for future Fics.


	21. Incandescence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd

The field of flowers seemed to surge into his vision in the usual vibrant colours. He knew this dream, this equilibrium, where it was just him and his thoughts. The flowers blew in the soft, cool breeze, their petals flickering and swaying delicately. The sky was clear, but there was no sun, only a comforting blue as far as the eye could see. From his left there was a forest, trees of all sorts stood tall and shook in the stronger winds higher up. The leaves shuddered and broke away from the flimsy branches and twigs, falling to the ground like bombs, coming to rest in the soft, green grass. He felt a mixture of emotions welling up inside him, sadness, fear, loneliness. But also content and happiness as well as comfort and safety. It took him a while to realise he was naked, stood amongst the meadow of small flowers. His toes curled into the grass as he took a breath of the fresh air. To the right of him was a library, weird, he thought, but nevertheless a tall building, covered in stone work and engravings. Like Kamii, he thought. Lo and behold it was Kamii’s library and the scent of old books wafted over to him.

But then he felt a searing fire against his skin. He felt his skin boil and singe into charred nothingness. But weirdly it didn’t hurt. He glanced around, the forest, unlike before, was on fire. The flames consumed the trees from the base to the peak, the flames licking and searching for more fuel. And he was stuck, his feet unwillingly wanting to move, to run from the fire. The library too, it was engulfed in the fire that seemed hotter than the sun and his dried his eyes out until they were shrivelled and oozing. But he could still see.

The meadow wasn’t touched by the embers, it seemed to be protected by an invisible force field. The flowers still grew in their vibrant colours, even when the smoke surged forwards and choked everything of oxygen.

 _“Ken”_ There was a hand on his back. The person circled around him, wearing a wrinkled suit and tie. His trousers were covered in smudged and rips and his hair was messy, knots and dreads and blood caked most of the strands. His eyes were pleading.

 _“I can’t survive much longer like this”_ He whimpered, tears brimming bloodshot eyes.

A pain leaked through his body as he felt a large object piercing him through the stomach area. Another large grip was on his left arm, bending his back to the point where his elbow gave way to a disgusting crack. He couldn’t cry out in pain, his voice seemed caught within his throat. He shut his eyes tightly, focusing on breathing. When he opened them again, the meadow was gone. And the face of the One-Eyed Owl was looking back at him.

“My dear Ken” Her voice, distorted and feral. “Let’s have some fun, shall we?”

The horror on Kaneki’s face made her laugh as she dropped the broken arm, letting is fall to his side. He glanced around quickly, noting that Urie was being attacked by Tatara. He was covered in blood and bruises, his regeneration slow to the point that he was battling death right now.

“No, no, please” Kaneki gasped, feeling the sharp Ukaku blade twisting in his gut. Eto laughed sharply, her Kakujya mask smiled with stark white teeth.

“You look so cute when you beg” She hissed, removing the blade. He could see Sasaki Haise stood behind her, looking dishevelled and untidy. His face held a soft smile, but it couldn’t mask the pain and depression he felt.

What had Kaneki become? He wasn’t strong, he wasn’t fast, and he wasn’t deadly like he used to be. He felt so terribly sad to the point of simply balling his eyes out in horrendous sobs. Eto couldn’t stop her laughter and Kaneki continued to cry. He repeated the mantra in his head _‘993, 986, 979…’_

 _“Kaneki, if you keep this up, Urie will die”_ Sasaki spoke, he too was crying but with silent tears. _“Saiko will die, Shirazu will die, and Mutsuki will die and… Hide… he will die”_ He looked back towards Urie, lying in a pile of blood as Tatara stabbed him multiple times. The look of failure on Urie’s face as his eyes rolled back and his breathing became erratic.

“No...” Whimpered Kaneki, Eto was breaking his other arm. _‘972, 965, 958’_

 _“Kaneki, what happened to the person who taunted me for years?”_ Sasaki sounded annoyed _“Come back”_

“That wasn’t me” Kaneki grunted. The bone gave away. He was so hungry but he couldn’t get to his syringes. Eto growled and pushed Kaneki back, he landed awkwardly, face down, he could barely bring out his Kagune when Eto plunged her blade into the Kakuhou. The Kagune dissipated and Kaneki screeched.

 _“You need to fight!”_ Sasaki yelled _“Allow me to help!”_

“Eto, enough, or you will no doubt kill him” Another voice entered his ears. Male, old, and fatherly like. Kaneki had a brief, fleeting thought that it was Yoshimura. It wasn’t.

“Oh but Kanou, I’m having fun!” She giggled, retracting her Ukaku. Kanou stood before her and Kaneki. Eto held a look of disappointment on her face as she took a few steps back. Her Kakujya fell away from her face and she stood there, giving Kanou the evils.

“We can’t have him dead” Kanou spoke in a calm tone. Kaneki felt a hand on his back, rubbing soft circles into the area between his shoulder blades.

“K..Kanou” Kaneki hissed, his voice faltering anger and pain. He felt his regeneration kicking in, slower this time, without any proper fuel. Kanou was the reason for this, for being a Half-Ghoul, for becoming this monster who was once human. Kanou was singlehandedly the person who caused Kaneki to become depressed and suicidal all those years ago.

“I…I was told I didn’t belong in this world, the ghoul one or the human one” Kaneki mumbled, his left arm healed now. He pushed himself up, the right arm finalising its regeneration. He staggered to his feet, ignoring the pain of his abdomen and back. “This is all your fault” Kaneki spat.

“I am quite aware of our last meeting” Kanou said. Why was his voice so calm? “I would never dream of trying to kill you, Kaneki, you are my Ultimate Creation, after all” The words boiled inside Kaneki’s mind.

* * *

 

“The line, it went dead” Hide whispered, clutching the phone in his hands, looking at the call history.

** Kaneki Ken, last call, 5 minutes ago. **

“He’s in trouble” Hide deadpanned, pocketing the phone and turning towards Arima. “We need to find him” He was shuddering with worry, his stomach felt like it was going empty its contents any minute.

“We will find him” Arima patted his back and nodded.

The Q Squad were almost healed when Hide came to give their briefing. Each of them sat, hunched over, clutching water bottles and CCG rations. None of them felt like eating when they heard the news.

“This operation is now a rescue operation for Kaneki Ken and Urie Kuki”

They were unsure of their actions and depended on Hide’s words.

“We will be put under the leadership of Squad 0 for the rest of the operation and there is chance we won’t survive”

* * *

 

“Fuck you” Kaneki spat. He felt an unusual, yet familiar, anger bubbling up inside him. His Kakugan was glowing fiercely. “You did this to Hide, as well”

“Yes I did, I knew he would have potential” Kanou had the decency to smile. “Such a lovely lad, though, he was too bubbly, so I let Tatara and Seidou play with him a bit”

The anger had erupted like a supernova inside Kaneki. He could feel the shockwaves inside his nerves as each ending lit into bursts of electricity. He felt his entire being radiate with a newfound anger he had not known existed. And it felt good, for a smile crept across his face. He Kagune was bubbling inside of him, begging to be released. He could probably produce only two claws, what with the damage to his Kakuhou, but still it was enough to see Kanou dead before his eyes.

“You are going to wish you hadn’t of said that” Kaneki said in the calmest tone he could muster. But he knew they could see him twitching with rage.

“Sasaki” He said out loud, noticing the ghostly figure watching from behind the Owl. Kanou looked back, over to where Kaneki was looking. A look of confusion on his face.

_“Yes?”_

“Join me”

Some part of Kaneki seemed to fill up with a bundle of knew emotions. Newfound strength and love and happiness and anger. His thoughts temporarily seemed to muddle, he had an urge to call himself Sasaki Haise, but he still wanted to call himself Kaneki Ken. It was like the two of them had merged into a new person, but he didn’t know who he was.

Sasaki Haise or Kaneki Ken. He was both.

His Kagune burst out from him, 4 long claws proved his earlier thought processes were wrong. The claws seemed to merge and wrap around each other, representing Sasaki’s Kagune, but they still could detach and harden at will. The next thing he knew was his sharpened claw was buried deep within Kanou’s chest.

“Goodbye” Kaneki hissed, opting to use the dominant personalities name over Sasaki and with one fast slice Kanou’s head was ripped from his body in a flurry of blood. Kaneki felt good, he felt powerful, as if something had snapped inside of him. He took on the owl next.

* * *

 

Tracing the GPS from the caller ID the CCG Squad vans found the area they were looking for. They parked up, a street away from where the loud screaming and crashing could be heard. Each of the investigators mentally prepared themselves. Some were praying, others having a moment of silence. All but Hide who kept fidgeting where he stood, his anticipation, to see the light of the person who hurt Kaneki leave their eyes, was too strong.

“Let’s go!” Marude echoed across the tannoy of one of the CCG vans. Signalling the start of the operation. All 3 Squads left the area and headed towards the scene. Squad 0 was leading, followed by what was left of the Q Squad and lastly, taking up the rear, was Juuzou’s squad.

* * *

 

Unknowingly, sat on top of one of the closest buildings was a shrouded figure. He watched silently, his hood pulled down and his mask poking out from the front. He waited for his moment. He was going to help Kaneki Ken, the Ghoul who taught him about the conflicting worlds of Humans and Ghouls and how similar they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments welcome <3


	22. Serendipity

Kaneki stood before the mangled mess that was once Kanou’s body. His breathing was heavy and his heart pounded in his chest. A grimace rested upon his features as he looked at the pooling blood glinting in the dark. The moon had come out from behind the clouds, it shone down in soft silvery rays, or were they hard as steel? Kaneki didn’t know and couldn’t tell. Kaneki was bordering hyperventilation, stuck between wanting to kill everything in his sight or breaking down and wishing for his death. He was enlightened that Kanou was dead, that he had enacted his revenge in the bloodiest way possible. But something inside him told him it wasn’t right, that he wasn’t satiated with what he did. It caused his stomach to roll in waves of pain and it added to his inner turmoil.

Eto, now in her normal form was stood over the head of Kanou, she kicked it lightly with her foot before looking up at Kaneki. She shrugged and giggled at the same time.

“Look at this!” She laughed “I didn’t know you had it in you!” Her laughter turned into fits of giggles and she had to clutch her sides from the pain of it. Kaneki ignored her comment, trying to calm himself down.

_Deep breaths, in, out, in, out. You can’t let the ghoul take over. But you are human, and you are a ghoul. What are you?_

The stinging from his lower back never seemed to go and his Kagune began morphing and thrashing around. The force of it pulled Kaneki to his left, towards Urie’s unmoving body. He fell, crumpling onto the ground as he felt his Kagune heating up and cooling down. It grew large and ridged then small and stringy. His kakuhou felt like it was going to rupture, and it did, with 2 more appendages much longer than the other 4. They were a darkened purple with red lightning bolt-like streaks surging through their lengths. Another warm sensation rushed to his face, much like blushing, but it was tinged with pain. A hard substance oozed over his face, covering his Ghoul Eye.

“He triggered his Kakujya?” Tatara spoke, watching Kaneki writhing on the floor. “Unusual, he hasn’t consumed any ghouls recently has he?”

“Exactly, not for at least two years” Eto added, bringing her hand to her chin in thought. “Anger can trigger a Kakuhou?”

“Possibly” Tatara answered walking over to Kaneki. He placed a boot onto his back, just above where the Kagune were rupturing from and pushed him down, applying his full weight to stop him from moving. Kaneki grunted and twisted under the pressure.

“Get… Get off of me…” His voice was distorted and quiet. The mask had covered half of his face now, like a beak, or a long sharp nose that curved at the end. His human eye was nothing but the sclera, his pupil rolled back under his eyelid. His Ghoul-Eye was covered with the RC substance and in the middle of his head, much like a cyclops, was a large bulging orb. Inside was the pupil of his Ghoul Eye, glowing red with fire.

“CCG INCOMING!” A voice echoed from somewhere above. In the corner of Kaneki’s vision was a boy dressed in black, he had jumped down from the building nearest to the group.

“Welp Kaneki, Karma is real after all” Ayato hissed, he was walking with towards Kaneki. He smirked, looking at how Tatara had to trap him with little effort. The purple haired boy delivered a kick to Kaneki’s hip. Kaneki grunted, his Kagune seemed paralysed, unwilling to move.

“What’s this about an incoming?” Eto spoke softly, her grin was evident.

“I spotted them literally around the corner from us, looks like they were preparing an assault” Ayato nodded.

“Well this just got a lot more fun” Eto giggled, activating her Kakujya. Kaneki hoped Hide was okay, he hoped his squad was okay and finally, he hoped there was a strong CCG force to end this battle.

Rain. It was cold and hard. Coming down like a waterfall it soaked everyone instantly. Why now? Kaneki moved underneath the foot, dislodging himself when Tatara wasn’t paying attention, he managed to move a few metres before Tatara’s Kagune smacked him back down again. Kaneki could only just reach Urie from his position now, he grabbed the sleeve of his subordinate and the younger teen let out a pained sigh. He was alive, only just.

Light. Blinding and powerful. A helicopter steadied itself overhead the small Aogiri group. Then the sound of running could be heard. CCG Soldiers and Investigators were barrelling towards the group. Squad 0 went straight for the Owl and The Q Squad went straight for Kaneki and Urie. Juuzou’s squad took on Ayato and Tatara who had left Kaneki to fight. Lots of CCG Soldiers dispersed into the surround streets and alleyways, searching out more Aogiri grunts.

“Kaneki!” Hide yelled, running at full speed towards the motionless man on the floor. He was clutching his Quinque since he was too tired to use hid Ukaku. It a pass down of one of Arima Kishou’s collection. A gift for joining the CCG as the tall man had said. In his other hand was another Quinque, Kaneki’s, but it wasn’t Yukimura. It was called Kura, found in the old Quinque storage as a backup. Hide came to rest at Kaneki’s side, he gripped his shoulders and rolled him onto his back. Hide was met with the Kakujya mask.

“Kaneki are you okay? Can you hear me?” Memories rushed back to the time Hide had met Kaneki in the sewers 2 years ago. Kaneki had an activated Kakujya back then, and he knew, first hand, how dangerous they can be. Kaneki grunted, feeling his mask begin to fall away from his face, he was met with the broad smile of Hide and couldn’t help by smile back. There was something about Hide’s touch that made the feelings of the Kakujya fade away. Kaneki passed on the thought and carried on staring at his significant other.

“I’m okay” Kaneki coughed, standing up and taking the other Quinque Hide had for him. “Yura, huh?” Hide nodded “This was once Amon Koutaru’s Quinque” Kaneki looked the large object over while rotating it in his hands. His thoughts fluttered to the missing investigator and his memories back to the time they battled. Kaneki had shown him what little differences there were between ghouls and humans. They had families, they loved, they cared and they both had to eat. It was just unfortunate that Ghouls had to eat flesh to survive.

“Hide, are you okay?” Kaneki forgot his fleeting thoughts and demanded that Hide tell him. Hide threw his hands up, avoiding Kaneki’s cold glare.

“Yes, good, just a little tired is all” Hide answered, seeing Kaneki’s face soften at the words. They fell into a tight hug and embraced each other. The battle was carrying on around them, but each of them didn’t care about that. As long as they had each other they were fine.

“Let’s go” Hide broke the hug, pulling Kaneki by the hand towards Ayato and Tatara. They both dived in, Kaneki smashing Kura against Ayato’s shoulder. Earning Kaneki a loud annoyed yelp. The purple-haired boy turned on his heels and unleashed a storm of bullets from his Ukaku. Hide went for Tatara and they became locked in a battle of counters and dodges, they seemed equally matched.

Behind them Mutsuki and Shirazu were dragging Urie to cover while Saiko defended them best as they could from stray bullets and accidental swipes of Kagune and Quinque. Juuzou’s Squad were backing up Squad 0 in their assault on the Owl who was managing to keep the two squads at bay. She was laughing the entire time while stomping on Soldiers and swiping at the Investigators. Arima was using IXA to land small hits, but he too wasn’t warmed up enough for a fully-fledged battle. But still they did their best.

Ayato punched Kaneki in the jaw who then countered by swinging his own fist up into Ayato’s chin. He hissed in pain as Kaneki kicked him backwards, using Kura to swipe across his stomach, resulting in a spray of blood.

“You fucker” Ayato hissed, spitting out a mouthful of blood and launching himself back at Kaneki. His Kagune wrapped into what seemed like a tornado around his body. He repeatedly shot Ukaku bullets from within. Some sliced into Kaneki’s clothes and skin, but he was too quick at regeneration for Ayato to do any serious damage. Then suddenly Ayato had been pushed backwards and into a brick wall. He landed in a pile with a grunt of pain. His Kagune dispersed and erratic breathing was heard. Tatara had also been lifted high into the air and came plummeting down to Earth, hard. Kaneki and Hide both exchanged glances when a shadowy figure passed their vision.

“I’m here to help” The voice echoed before the rush was gone. Kaneki recognised it, but from where. He had witness so many voices in his life that it had all become a muddle in his thoughts. The figure sliced past them again and this time towards Noro who was resting on top of a building. He was sliced into pieces by what seemed like a flash of pale blue. The figure landed back down and stood in front of both Mentors. His hood concealed his head and a long pointed mask hid his face. From within the eyeholes Kaneki could see a normal eye and a Ghoul-Eye. Instead of a black sclera and red iris he could see a red sclera and a golden iris.

“A Hyper-Ghoul” Kaneki whispered and the figure nodded. Kaneki looked over to Hide who was in awe.

“So I’m not the only one?” He laughed, reaching to pat the figure on the back but instead was met with his arm twisted behind his back.

“Don’t do that, now more importantly, we have that to take care of” He gestured to the Owl as he let go of Hide. The mentor muttered a ‘not cool man’ before running off with Kaneki and the Ghoul.

Eto had the CCG at her will. She was easily killing them off and taking on Arima and Juuzou with expertise. She carried on giggling the whole way through, even when three more joined the party. The Ghoul jumped up and landed on her back, jabbing his scaled Rinkaku into her back where her Ukaku ruptured from. She screech, lunging to the side to rid herself off the pest. This gave Arima a chance to ram IXA through her eye. She brought a hand up and pulled out the intrusion, blood splattered everywhere. Arima never made a sign of emotion. Hide managed to bring out his Ukaku and he too landed on her back and began to work on breaking apart the large spikes of her Kakujya and with luck the RC cells began to dissolve at his and the Ghouls touches.

Kaneki watched from below, noting the coincidence.

“A Hyper Ghoul can stop a Kakujya?” He pondered, swiping Kura up whenever a hand came near or a round of Ukaku bullets hit him. The Q Squad, who had now dragged Urie to safety, were now on the scene. Each of them used their Kagunes to deliver small blows to the Owls feet and arms whenever they could. Chunks of Kakujya began falling from where the two men were saddled on her back. She thrashed wildly, attempting to get them off, even when her figure began to break down to nothing. A large arm had dislocated from its joints, leaving her own smaller arm behind, however her skin had been stripped away with the Kakujya.

“KEEP DOING THAT!” Kaneki called, running towards Arima and his Squad.

“The Hyper-Ghoulism, it can destroy Kakujyas!” He yelled, stopping beside Arima and Koori, taking his time to get his breath back.

More lumps of flesh fell, sliding down her back in streaks off blood until her body was smaller and shrivelled. Her mask ripped away from her face, pulling the skin with it until it was nothing but a skull. She was groaning, unable to close her lips. And soon, her last breath faltered through her lungs.

The One-Eyed Owl was no more.

\--

_The egg is the world._

**_Sasaki, you are the Wren inside that egg._ **

_Whoever is born must break out of the egg._

**_Haise you are stuck inside this Halsband world._ **

_Therefore, one who is born must destroy the world._

**_Haise Sasaki, you must break free of the Halsband, and destroy the world where Humans hate ghouls._ **

**_That is what it means to be you, Haise Sasaki._ **

Amon Koutaru once said that this world was wrong and he was correct in all ways possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are welcome.  
> The aftermath will be in the next chapter incase you were wondering what happened about the Unknown Ghoul investigation.
> 
> Sasaki (佐々木) - Means Wren, a common bird.  
> Haise (琲世) - Means Halsband World.  
> Halsband is something you tie around a birds neck or foot, much like a leash. Falconers use it a lot. It can also be used for identification, much like a collar.
> 
> I like this theory because you could say that Sasaki Haise is a bird tied down. The words Halsband world could indicate Haise is tied to the world and therefore needs to break loose, especially if you apply it to Hermian Hesse's novel Demian. With the quote about the egg and destroying the world.
> 
> I also drew a TwoTwines! Hide for all your needs. (I didn't realise it was huge, ignore my terrible art skills.)  
> [](http://tinypic.com?ref=2ajomqg)


	23. Sempiternal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter in this series.  
> I hope you all enjoyed it!

“Amon Koutaru, you are hereby placed under the protection of the CCG” The Head Chairman of the CCG boomed throughout the large ceremony hall. The Unknown Ghoul, who aided in the help of exterminating The One-Eyed Owl, also known as Eto and the gruesome horror-author Takatsuki Sen. Tsuneyoshi Washuu stood before the man who was clad in ceremony uniform. His hair was longer and was flecked with silver. He had a longing look in his eyes, possibly for peace? Who knew, but he accepted the award presented to him by Washuu. The Eagle Claw award, for upmost bravery. Washuu also presented Amon with another Medal. It was pure white with silver patterns and it resembled a dragon wing.

“This is the White Dragon Wing Award” Washuu stated, pinning it onto Amon’s suit. “Given when an SSS rated Ghoul is defeated” He smiled and Amon bowed softly, thanking him.

The rest of the Squads involved in the operation stood on hand at the foot of the large ceremony stage. Washuu called each squad up one by one to receive their medals and rounds of applauses. Amon stood back, allowing space for the Squads to arrive in a lines.

“The Quinx Squad, you may come up” He bellowed as the round of applause for Amon died out. The 6 membered Squad slowly walked up on stage with Kaneki in front and Hide in the rear. They all lined up, wearing their formal attire of white suits with golden trims, and bowed deeply to the large audience. Hide had a massive grin on his face that he couldn’t hide, Saiko was smiling sweetly as Mutsuki was flushing a deep red from stage fright. Shirazu tried his best to look not bothered at all and Urie stood with a scowl across his face. Kaneki smiled softly as his eyes scanned the room, they ended up staring at Hide’s who giggled at him.

“The Quinx Squad, the first squad run by two artificially made Ghouls and four Quinx’s” Washuu spoke. Walking along the front of the line of Investigators. He stopped at Hide.

“Hideyoshi Nagachika” Washuu began “First Class Investigator, I hereby promote you to Associate Special Class” He pulled out the same medals from before, the Eagle Claw of bravery and the Dragon Wing for defeating an SSS rated ghoul. Washuu carried on through the squad. Saiko being promoted to Rank 1, Mutsuki being promoted to First Class, Shirazu being promoted to Rank 1 and Urie begin promoted to First Class. Each of the four were given the two medals.

“Kaneki Ken” Washuu stopped before Kaneki, looking him up and down before settling on his steel grey eyes. “Thank you for your cooperation towards the CCG, without you we wouldn’t of had such a powerful and lovely squad” He gestured to the rest of the Q’s. Kaneki tried hard not to grimace, it wasn’t like he had a choice, considering they wiped his memories clean.

“I am promoting you to Special Class, it is the upmost honourable thing I can do for someone like you” Washuu bowed deeply as Kaneki averted his gaze, he saw Arima watching from where his squad were sat. The man smiled at him, but Kaneki didn’t give anything back. Washuu then presented the investigator with both medals.

“Quinx, you are dismissed” Washuu stated and the six of them went to go stand with Amon.

“Congratulations Kaneki” Amon whispered “You have come so far” Kaneki ignored him, opting to not talk at this moment in time. Hide shot Kaneki a glare but Kaneki simply shook his head. He needed to go somewhere quiet. Something feels unusual inside of him.

The rest of the ceremony carried on pretty much all night. Next up was Suzuya Juuzou’s Squad, then Squad 0. Each member got both medals and some were promoted. The ceremony then faded into an after party with music, drinks and food. Kaneki took this as his time to escape. Something inside him felt like it was going to burst. He ran up to the roof, hoping the cool night air will help his situation. Kaneki opted for lying down on the concrete, he stared up at the night sky, feeling the burning in his lower back become gradually stronger and stronger. The pain began to increase up until the man was struggling to breath. His Kagune ruptured out from his lower back and began to pulsate and writhe in the air.

“Why” He breathed, feeling two of the appendages begin oozing into the ground. The pain was still there, like fire that was searing his skin. The Kagune split away from his body, leaving him with the other two tentacles. The ones that lay wiggling on the floor began to mould into shape. A person, laying in the foetal position. Skin began to knit its way over the red RC cells and body hair grew, matted black and white hair sprouted from its head as its face began to form its features, a mouth, nose, ears, cheekbones, eyebrows and lastly cold, grey eyes. The thing coughed and sat up, lifting up a freshly made arm to wipe its face from RC fluid and excretions. His eyes met Kaneki’s and his mouth dropped.

“Kaneki?” He spoke, peering at the Investigator. Kaneki was silent, the pain was dying down now but he too was surprised.

“Sasaki?” Kaneki whispered, inching over to touch the other man’s face. “What the actual fuck?” Sasaki laughed, hugging his sides. That’s when he realised he was naked and did his best to hide himself.

“Don’t worry, nothing I haven’t seen before” Kaneki laughed “So how is this possible?” He prodded Sasaki again, it felt like normal skin, with muscles and bones and everything in-between.

“The Kagune?” Sasaki said, pointing to Kaneki’s Rinkaku. He was only able to produce two claws. Sasaki willed himself to bring out his Kagune, the same two claws. “I was made from your Kagune”

“Seems like it?”

There was a loud clunk as the hatch on the roof opened. Hide popped his head out with a massive grin. “Hey Kaneki, come back were having-… What”

“Uh Hide… Meet Sasaki?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcome!   
> THERE WILL BE SEQUEL, BUT NOT FOR SOME TIME.


End file.
